You'd Never Get It
by Sakamoto Michiko
Summary: You'd never get it! Being isolated, alone, hated all the time!" I let my eyes wander downwards. "Don't be so sure about that..." Rated T just in case. R&R plz! Pairings are a surprise, but there will be yaoi. Many OCs. Follows original plot at first.
1. Sacrifices

**OK, here's the first chapter in the series!! This one has to do with Naruto and Emi. You'll find out who she is later. **

**Oh, yeah, disclaimer. ahem ahem I don't own Naruto or anything about it, except for the characters that are obviously not in the original anime, and my friends own them, too. Dude...why would I be writing this if I owned Naruto? sigh**

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The Hokage sat in the third floor hospital waiting room with his elbows on his knees and his forehead in his hands, making his bangs stick up even crazier than they already were. The smirk he typically had stuck on his face was replaced with a frown today. He could hear Kushina in the room down the hall and his scowl only darkened.

"Hokage-sama!!" came a nurse's voice next to him. His head shot up to meet her gaze. Her black hair hung messily around her face as it started to slip out of her bun. Her forehead was a bit shiny, as were her eyes. She smiled and excitedly said "She had twins!!"

Minato sprang up from his seat and almost hit the seventh floor ceiling. "Nani?!" he shouted, shoving past the little woman to the hospital room his wife was in. The nurse scurried to his side and opened the door for him to enter. She didn't expect a 'thank you', but got one anyone and nodded with a smile. He rushed to Kushina's side. She was holding two children in her arms and beaming at her husband.

"I…wasn't expecting this," she said, a bit tiredly.

Minato's eyes watered up and he laughed a little. Kushina held one of the children out for him to hold. He gently picked up the baby boy, who bore hair the same color as his own. In his wife's arms was a girl, who had blonde hair like her father's that also had red streaks the same color as her mother's. Minato grinned and ran a finger down his son's cheek. The boy grasped his tiny hands around his finger and stuck it into his mouth. A tear fell off Minato's face. Kushina fingered her daughter's hair as the little girl yawned and stretched her short arms upwards.

"Have you decided on names for them?" a nurse asked kindly.

"The boy's name, as we already decided," Minato said, still looking down on the little baby boy, "will be Naruto." He looked to his wife. "What about the girl's name?" he asked.

Kushina looked from her husband to the baby and smiled. "Emi. We'll name her Emi," she said happily. The nurse nodded and wrote the names down on a piece of paper. A male doctor took the children and placed each one in a small bed.

A loud, heart-chilling roar resonated through the air next. Minato spun around and rushed to the window, throwing back the shades. Kushina gasped for air at the sight.

A huge, menacing beast stood snarling, it's many tails slithering from side to side menacingly.

"K-Kyuubi no Kit-tsune!" Minato stuttered out. He ran out of the room and grabbed his long jacket, and headed for the stairs.

"Minato!" Kushina called out as she sprang from her bed, despite the protests from several doctors.

The Hokage turned on his heel and grabbed her arms before she could run into him. "Kushina, you shouldn't be out of bed! Go take care of Naruto and Emi!" he said in a loud rush. Kushina stared back up at him. "I promise you I'll come back!" Minato said.

She shook her head. "No, I'm coming with you! Not even you could handle the Kyuubi on your own!" she said.

"Kushina, I don't want to see you get hurt, especially now that the kids are here. If I don't make it, they need someone to take care of them," Minato explained gently. Sorrow filled his words at the thought of losing any of them.

"But that's just the thing," Kushina protested. "If you let me help you, there's less of a chance of either one of us dying. Then we can _both_ be with Emi and Naruto." She wrapped her arms around Minato. "I promise _you_ that we'll both make it out of this."

Minato tightened his grip around Kushina and bit his lip, but resorted with a nod. He jumped down the flights of stairs, with Kushina following, barefoot and in a hospital gown. They skidded to a halt outside the hospital and found that the monster was so close to the building that Minato could make out the blood that was splattered on its vibrant orange fur.

"Get the kids!" he shouted to Kushina, who nodded and reappeared a moment later, with a crying baby in each arm. He grabbed her hand and gave a squeeze. "Keep yourself safe, and keep them safe," he said with begging eyes. Kushina nodded vigorously.

Minato turned his attention back to Kyuubi to find that he wasn't the only one with fighting with his children. Next to the beast was a small, nine-tailed fox kit that was hopping on the tops of roofs and snapping up villagers in its jaws. Minato scowled. He didn't have any other resort at this point. The Fourth Hokage bit his thumb and slammed his hand to the ground, shouting "Hold on, Kushina! _Kuchiyose!!_" In a huge cloud of smoke, the Uzumaki family found themselves on the head of a giant toad, Gamakichi.

"Yondaime-sama, what do…you…nee…" the huge amphibian trailed off as his gaze fell on Kyuubi at his kit. He immediately crouched down and placed a webbed hand on his dagger. "Just tell me what to do," he said determinedly to the Hokage, who nodded. Minato looked at Kushina, who was gently shushing the two wailing babies. They both quieted down a bit at the sound of her voice. She looked towards the horizon to stare at the village her husband was sworn to protect. Trees and buildings, including the hospital, crashed to the ground as Kyuubi jumped from side to side and let his tails collide with anything nearby. His giant paws smashed countless shinobi into the soil, staining his tracks with their blood. Kyuubi's kit skipped around the entire village playfully, as if eating villagers and destroying buildings was a great game that he was enjoying very much. The sight of so much death and destruction was sickening to Kushina, so much that she shielded her children's eyes from the view, even if their eyes were closed.

A dark figure that vaguely resembled a man darted from Kyuubi's feet into the forests without looking back, though there wasn't anything Minato could do about investigating that at the moment.

He formed a sphere of swirling, blue chakra and thrust it towards Kyuubi, shouting "Rasengan!!" Blood splashed to the ground and Kyuubi let out an angry and pain-filled wail as he staggered backwards. He turned back to the Hokage that had attacked him and snarled angrily. His kit crouched down and lunged defensively in front of his father, barring his fangs warningly. Minato scowled. He had Gamakichi lunge for the beasts with his dagger, but even that didn't work. Nothing they did even wounded the two foxes any more. He soon told Gamakichi that he was no longer needed, and the giant toad vanished at that.

"There's no way I can take both of them out…" he muttered to himself, but Kushina heard.

"What are you going to do?" she asked apprehensively. She didn't like the look in his eyes. They were full of pain, indecision, and reluctance. He turned to her and let the full force of those emotions flow out into her own eyes.

"The only thing I can think of that'd work is to seal them inside of a human body," he said. His gaze fell on his newborn children, then back to Kushina. Her eyes widened when she realized his train of thought.

"Y-you don't mean…!" she muttered. "You can't possibly!!"

All Minato could do was nod. "It would involve me losing my life, but I'd rather die than let any more lives be lost. Konoha's lost enough at this point."

Kushina laid her head on Minato's chest. "No, you can't do this! You can't just throw your life away like this!!" she said, tears welling up in her eyes. Minato placed a hand under her chin and lifted her face to meet his. He smiled sadly.

"Kushina, I'd rather die that see you die. I'd give my life again and again if it meant keeping you safe. And if I seal these demons in Emi and Naruto, nothing bad can become of it for them. They'll become exponentially stronger…" He looked out over his village with a lump in his throat. "They'll be the heroes of Konohagakure, the ones who saved the village from the strongest of all the Bijuu and his child."

Kushina felt a few tears roll off her chin as she lowered her head. "If you need two sacrifices for this…" she said softly, catching Minato's attention. "Use me as well."

Minato held her shoulders and pulled her back. "No! I won't do that to you!" he protested, almost angrily. Kushina looked up at him with her sparkling, moist eyes.

"Please, Minato," she begged. "If you're going to die…I don't think I could handle being here…all alone…even with the children…" She let her head fall forward again. "I know it sounds selfish…I know I sound like such a horrible mother for saying this…but how can I be the cheerful, happy mother I'm supposed to be when I know you're dead?" More salty tears hit the cement below her feet. "Use me as the second sacrifice," she repeated her request, a bit firmer this time.

Minato looked from his wife to the two children in her arms. He stroked each of their cheeks and bit his lip once more until it almost bled. A loud roar made him turn to face the foxes, his decision made. He formed a long string of hand signs and said the fatal jutsus name. He looked to his wife, gave her a loving kiss, then placed a hand on her shoulder, placing a second hand on his daughter, Emi. A blinding flash of light appeared, and Kyuubi's kit screamed in shock and slight pain.

Kushina's eyes widened and she gasped for air, but found it impossible to breathe. She looked down at her children and gave each a quick kiss before turning to Minato and smiling warmly, the smile Minato had always adored about her. With that, she felt her world grow dark and cold, and collapsed to the ground.

Minato had gently taken the babies from Kushina before she fell lifeless to the cement, still slightly wearing the smile she had earlier. Tears trickled down his face as he turned away from her and performed the same technique on Naruto. He soon found that his throat felt like someone was squeezing it until his windpipe closed. He stared down at the Emi and Naruto and fell to his knees. He 

set each one down gently on the ground. All of the cheers from the villagers became vague for him. He looked up when he heard the slapping of sandals meeting pavement to see Jiraiya rushing towards him.

"Minato! Did you…?!" He trailed off when he saw Kushina's body and the seal marks now present on the twins' stomachs, as well as the whisker marks.

Minato just smiled. "Take care of them…for us…would ya, sensei?" he choked out. "At least…find them a place…to stay…" He coughed into his fist. "Make sure…no one…sees them as monsters…that no one talks about them…like that…no, make sure no one talks…about it at all…"

Jiraiya nodded as he lifted the two children up into his big arms. "What about you, Minato?" he asked warily.

"Sensei…I'm not going to make it," Minato said, running out of breath. "Just please…be a good godfather…and make sure they're…alright," he wheezed with a smirk. After that, Minato felt his eyes roll into the back of his head. His head made contact with the cement. That was the last thing he felt.

The last thing he heard was the cries of his newborn twins. He used the last of his effort to force out a smile as his heart took one, final beat.

_Kushina…Naruto…Emi…_

_**Ba-bump.**_

**Good? Bad? Awesome? Made you wanna puke? Let me know!! But if you _are_ going to flame...don't be too mean. CC would be kewl...next chappie up soon!!**

**Ja ne!!**

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	2. Escape

**Insert gasp here Holy kuso, it's me! Second chappie in one day!! I'm on a ROLL, dude!! .**

**Quick thanks to _Reidluver_ for reviewing my first chapter! You all should follow her example and send me comments!!**

**OK, this is told from the POV of my OC, Sakamoto Michiko (note my username!! There's a method to my insanity, people. .) So yeah, just so you don't get confused.**

**_Disclaimer time!!_ I don't own Naruto. Wow. That was eventful, neh? . Enjoy this chapter!!**

Another day, another bruise.

Those were the words I'd learned to live by. Whether it was from the children on the playground, the adult villagers on the street, or the Kazekage himself, I always ended up battered and bleeding by the end of the day. My face was always slightly puffy from sobbing, and my arms were constantly covered in black and blue spots, some bigger than others. I looked like some kind of fucked up Dalmatian. I guess looking like a dog suited me of all people pretty well.

"Michiko," Temari said as she knocked on my bedroom door. I snapped my head up and turned around to face the door from my seated position on my bed. "Dinner is ready." I could tell she was trying to be cheerful.

"Not hungry," I replied curtly. Temari was silent for a moment before I heard her footsteps plod away and down the hall to her brothers' rooms. I sighed and opened the door, closing it rather loudly behind me, so much that Temari squeaked in surprise in the middle of her sentence. I looked over at her. "Ah, sorry, Temari-san," I muttered with a small smile. She grinned back and continued to yell at Kankuro for taking so long in the bathroom.

I felt my heart drop with each step I took down the stairs. _Maybe he won't be here tonight,_ I reassured myself. _Maybe he's got an important paper to do, or a meeting, o-or a mission, or something._ I gulped before rounding the corner to the kitchen, and sighed, slouching down for a moment. He wasn't there. Thank Kami for that.

Yashamaru turned to face me with a smile when he heard me sigh. He knew very well why I was so relieved. "Conbanwa, Michiko," he said happily.

I smiled and straightened up. "Conbanwa, Yashamaru-san. Uhm…" I hesitated. "Where's…Kazekage-sama?" I shuddered inwardly at having to use the suffix that he didn't deserve.

"H-he's, er, got an important meeting to, uh, attend," Yashamaru stuttered out, his eyes darting nervously to the side. I shrugged it off, thinking nothing of how anxious he suddenly became, and sat down in my usual chair. Soon, the three siblings ran down the stairs, Kankuro leading the way and Gaara trailing behind. They filled their chairs, Temari and Gaara sitting on either sides of me. Kankuro rubbed his hands together.

"Uncle Yashamaru, what're we havin'?!" he asked anxiously. Yashamaru laughed.

"Nothing elaborate, just some curry chicken and rice," he said, setting the plates of hot food in front of us. I noticed Gaara warily eye the bandages around his arm and head. His tear colored eyes turned to look at me. I quickly averted my own eyes to my dinner and snapped apart my chopsticks. Gaara continued to stare at me as he did the same with his chopsticks, placing them parallel to the table between his fingers.

"Itadakimasu!!" we all said, Kankuro a bit louder than the rest. With that, everyone started eating in silence, save for the brunette's loud chewing. I rolled my eyes and munched on a bit of spicy rice. I looked at the short redhead who sat next to me. _He's still sulking…when's he gonna snap out of it?_ I wondered to myself. It was an accident, after all. If those children hadn't have run from him like that…if they stopped treating him like a monster…I sighed and returned to eating. No use thinking of that. Hell 

would freeze over, thaw out, and then freeze over once more the day people started treating Gaara like a normal human, not a monster.

The same went for me.

Then again, the fact that I'd already attacked about ten villagers in the past two weeks without realizing it didn't help my reputation much.

The rest of the early evening went by rather uneventfully. I mainly stayed in my. I could vaguely hear Gaara and Yashamaru talking downstairs. I winced when I heard Gaara ask what love was. It broke my heart to hear that. I knew how he felt about that. I loved Temari and Kankuro like siblings, and they loved me the same way, but that was it. I never even had a full conversation with Gaara before. Anytime I approached him, he ran off, thinking I was going to tease him or beat him. He had no idea I was in the same situation he was.

I sighed and looked out the window. It was starting to get late. I put my manga on the shelf and ruffled through my dresser for a pair of pajamas, throwing them onto my bed. I started to remove my Hitai-ate when I heard someone softly crying. I stopped short and listened intently.

"Yashamaru…" I heard Gaara mutter softly, sniffling. I bit my lip and leaned out the window. He was sitting on the railing of the roof, holding his face in his hands and sobbing quietly. Without another thought, I jumped out of the window and jumped from rooftop to rooftop of the giant building until I had reached the place Gaara was. He didn't notice me and continued crying. I silently sat next to him and put a hand on his shoulder, making him jerk forward a bit in shock. He whipped his head to face me with wide, shaking eyes. "Wh-wha…?" he muttered, confused.

"Are you alright, Gaara?" I asked kindly. He scrubbed his face furiously and tried to regain control of his shaking shoulders.

"I-I'm fine. What-t do you want, M-Michiko?" he asked. I could tell he wanted to get rid of me, but I didn't really plan on leaving anytime soon.

"I just wanted to make sure you were OK. I heard you crying," I said.

"Well, I'm f-fine," he said, not looking at me. "Y-you wouldn't understand, anyway," he added under his breath, not intending for me to hear. I heard it.

"You know, Gaara," I started. "…I know how you feel."

This caught his attention. He looked up to face me. "How would you know?"

"People tease me a lot, too. I get beat up all the time, and made fun of…and I know you do, too," I explained.

For whatever reason, most likely because of his already bitter mood, Gaara's face turned angry. "No! You'd never get it! Being isolated, alone, hated all the time!"

I let my eyes wander down to the ground below us. "Don't be so sure about that," I muttered.

He was taken back a bit, but still remained upset. "Would you care to explain?" he asked curtly.

I glared at him out of the corners of my eyes childishly. "I'm sure you've heard of the girl who is a Jinchuuriki like you, right? The host of Houkou, the Five Tailed Dog Demon?" I asked. Gaara nodded and his brow rose, as if to say 'Go on, I'm listening.' I sighed and shut my eyes.

"Gaara-san…I'm that girl," I said softly.

When I opened my eyes, his were wide and shaking once more. He had one hand in front of him, as if to block me from him. "N-Nani?!" he stuttered. "Wh-why? Doushte?!"

I pulled my legs up and the railing and crossed them in front of me, holding my feet and rocking back and forth slightly as I stared down on the village. "I'm basically a failsafe in case you end up not working, from what Yashamaru told me," I said sadly. "Before I was born, my father had died on a mission…so it was just my mother around. A few months after I was born, your father…" I shuddered at the thought of him, "…had Houkou sealed in me…and it killed my mom." I felt my eyes watering up. "I-I still remember her a bit, too…sometimes, I can hear her voice talking to me, or s-singing me to sleep…" I bit my lip and looked at Gaara. His eyes had returned to normal size and he had lowered his arm.

"You…you're really…just like me," he muttered. All I could do was nod. I didn't say anything, for fear that my voice would crack. He looked ahead to the horizon for a few minutes. I joined him in silence, wiping my eyes and taking in a shaky breath.

"Michiko," he muttered after a moment. I looked over at him. "I'm sorry…for getting upset at you earlier."

I smirked. "It's alright, I don't mind it. I've gotten a lot worse," I responded. He flinched.

"So…is that…why my father beats you a lot?" he asked apprehensively, like he didn't want to know the answer. I flinched, but nodded all the same. "Sou da na…" Gaara grumbled to himself.

I sighed and looked up at the moon. "I, uh, should be getting to bed before Yashamaru gets angry," I said, letting my feet dangle down. I looked at Gaara with a smile. "Hey, maybe we can play on the swings together tomorrow!" I invited happily. His pale face seemed to glow.

"I'd really like that, Michiko!" he replied with a smile. I grinned and wrapped an arm around his neck in a playful hug.

"Great! I'll see you tomorrow after lessons, the—" I was cut off by the sound of metal hitting something grainy. Gaara and I both froze. After a second, I pulled my arm away from Gaara and turned around with him to face whoever was behind us. Much to our surprise, a man stood, surrounded in kunai that levitated off of the ground, pointed in our direction. Sand slithered protectively around Gaara, with several kunai embedded into it.

My eyes snapped open as something hit me. Earlier that week, I'd heard the Kazekage and Yashamaru talking about an assassination, but being the naïve six-year-old I was, I thought nothing of it since 

neither of them had mentioned who exactly they were going to be killing. "Gaara!" I shouted suddenly, making him turn to face me. "We have to get out of here! He's been sent to kill us both!!"

Gaara's eyes widened as he turned back towards the man. I watched as his face went from shocked and confused to nothing but white rage. "Michiko!" he barked, making me jump. "Get out of here as fast as you can!" he ordered me.

"Wh-where should I go?" I shrieked.

"Out of Suna! Away from here! Anywhere!" he shouted, not taking his eyes off of the assassin. "Go to Konoha if you must! Just get out of here! It isn't safe for either of us anymore!!"

I nodded. "You-you'll be coming, too, right? You'll meet me there?" I asked shakily.

"Yes, Michiko. I promise I'll find you somewhere, wherever you're going. Iko! Hayaku!" he yelled. I bit the inside of my cheek as I turned around and leaped off of the building and sprinted down the path. Shruiken and kunai landed in the soil around me, but were soon followed by a light shower of something red and thick. I gasped when I realized what it was.

Blood.

I spun around to see that the top pillar of the Kazekage mansion was covered in blood, and I could vaguely make out the assassin's body, laying limp against it. Gaara slowly approached him and hesitantly removed the cloth he wore around his face. Much to my horror, he fell to his knees and yelled out. Sand shot up into the sky as his anger and sorrow overflowed, so much that I could even feel his sadness as my own.

"YASHAMARU!!" Gaara screamed, followed by a cry of agony. I froze and felt my eyes water up a bit.

"No..no, not him…it can't be Yashamaru…" I muttered like an alcoholic. I grew so scared and confused that I just spun around and stumbled down the path until I was out of the village, not knowing what else to do. I didn't stop until I was out of the entryway, even when I heard a loud, earth-rumbling explosion behind me.

"_Go to Konoha if you must! It isn't safe for either of us anymore!!" _Gaara's words rang through my reeling head. I staggered through the sands of the vast desert.

_Yes, Konoha. That's where I'll go. I'll wait for Gaara there,_ I decided. I looked back when I heard an angry scream and vaguely saw yellow ribbons shoot into the black sky.

Small, salty tears fell down my face in great numbers when I heard a heart-wrenching roar, one that could only come from the throat of a monster.

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**So...how was this one?? Please tell meh! I wanna know if I'm doing a good job or if I'm boring you to death. I'm open to CC!!**

**Next chapter is gonna be about yet another OC, named Kamiko. You'll learn about her soon enough. Patience, young grasshoppah. Patience. -.-**

**Ja ne! waves**


	3. New Power

**Third chapter!! (le gasp!)**

**OK, let's get something cleared up real quick 'bout this chapter. This is told from Kamiko's POV. Kamiko is an OC based off of one of my other best friends. Yes, I'm introducing yet ANOTHER OC. And there are a lot more where she came from!! So for I've gotten about...3/7 of them in. And that number may change, too.**

**So, enjoy!! Don't forget to rate and review! Arigato gozaimasu!! **

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I woke with a jolt and shot up, only to grab my short hair and whimper in pain as my head throbbed. I felt something damp on the back of my head, but found I couldn't see what it was. I couldn't even see my own finger when I held it against my nose. I struggled to sit back up and swung my legs around the side of the bed.

"Okaa-san? Otou-san? Where are you?" I called out as I slipped off of the bed. My feet hit cold, coarse cement.

_Wait, this isn't right,_ I thought. _My room has a carpet next to my bed. What's going on?!_

"Mommy!! Daddy!! Are you here?!" I yelled as loud as I could. The air abruptly got cold. I grabbed my skinny arms and rubbed my hands up and down in an attempt to warm them.

A sinister laugh echoed throughout the room. "Wh-who's there?!" I shouted as bravely as I could. "Show-show yourself!"

_Click._

The room was instantly flooded with light. I squeaked unintentionally and shielded my eyes from the immense brightness for a few seconds before slowly opening my eyes. I spun around nervously, trying to take in all of my surroundings. I was in a large room with jagged rock walls and a cement floor. The bed I had been sleeping on was actually a hard table with a thin white sheet and a sad excuse for a pillow. Adorning the walls were shelves, filled with books and beakers and binders and files and jars. My mind started to reel. There was…something not right about this place.

"Impressive, isn't it?"

I froze. That voice…oh, God, why did it have to be _that_ voice?! Everyone knew that voice. Everyone feared that voice. I started shaking violently as I turned to face its owner. He smirked and let his long, purple tongue run across his pale lips in a way that made me want to vomit.

"O-Oroch-chimaru!" was all I could manage to whisper. He grinned even wider. I felt the bile start to rise up my throat.

"Welcome, Kamiko-chan," he said sweetly.

"Wh-where are my parents!? Why am I here?!" I demanded, glaring at him directly in the eye, though it pained me to do so.

"Your mother and father are here, Kamiko-chan," he said in a comforting, sickening voice.

"Stop calling me that!!" I screamed, balling up my fists next to me.

Orochimaru's grin only spread. "Stop calling you what? Do you have a nickname, Kamiko-chan?"

"No!! Ju-just stop calling me Kamiko-CHAN!!" I screamed, throwing my hands over my ears and shaking my head for a moment. "Now where are my parents?! Take me to them, now!!"

Orochimaru clicked his long tongue a few times. "Temper, temper!" he muttered. "I'm afraid you won't be able to see them."

I let my hands fall to my sides and gaped at him. "D-doushte?! _Why?!_" I shrieked. I let my tears fall out of my eyes. "I-I want to see them! Take me to them!" I repeated, stomping my foot on the floor. I felt like such a little child, but I didn't care.

After a short moment, Orochimaru slowly, very slowly, approached me, with the same crooked smile. My stomach lurched. I stepped backwards with every step he took towards me until I hit the bed. I scrambled on top of it and backed up until I hit the wall behind me. Orochimaru placed one white hand on the table and put the other on my face. I started breathing fast. I could taste the bile in my mouth now.

"Ryuzakena!! Get away from me!" I growled. I pulled my arm back and socked him in the face as hard as I could, sending him staggering back. He lifted his face up to expose a small blue spot that contrasted with his white face. His eyes grew angry. Mine grew wide.

The last thing I remembered was a shocking pain through my temple, and my world was enveloped in black.

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The next thing I heard was someone screaming. At first, I had no clue who it was, or where I was, or what was going on. Another cry of pain rang through the room I was in.

That's when I realized I was the one screaming.

My eyes flew open. I arched my back as far as it would go and shouted out in agony. My whole body burned. Like I was lying in fire, doused in gasoline. No…it was as if I'd swallowed fire and it was spreading through my entire body, reducing everything it touched to ashes. My limbs started stinging and throbbing, like someone was taking a kunai and slicing various cuts into my arms and legs, peeling the skin off as they went along and rubbing salt into the raw flesh. My stomach heaved.

"Kamiko-chan!!" someone called. I stopped screaming for a second.

"O-o-otou-san-n?!" I stuttered out, searching the room for my father.

"Kamiko-chan! I-I'm sorry!" he shouted back, though I couldn't see him. He sounded like he was crying.

"Dad!! Wh-where are you?! Where's M-M-Mom?!" I called to him.

"Honey, she…she's gone!" he replied sadly.

I froze for a moment before screaming in pain again. "N-no! She-she can't…be gone!! What's happening?!" I hollered.

"Kamiko, I-I'm so sorry, Kamiko-chan!!" my dad shouted. At the same time, we both shouted out in pain, my shriek louder than his.

"Father!!" I shouted.

No answer.

I started panting, trying to regain my breath. My vision turned blurry around the edges. _No, no I can't pass out now,_ I told myself. "Dad?!" More and more tears dripped down my face.

Still no answer.

"Alright, Orochimaru-sama. The process is done. The Bijuu is safely sealed inside," a male voice said.

"Good, Kabuto. Dispose of her father's body and take her to her cell," Orochimaru hissed.

"As you wish, Orochimaru-sama," the man named Kabuto answered. I felt myself being lifted up, but I could no longer see. I fought against unconsciousness, but lost that battle quickly.

"Dad…mom…" I murmered.

Kabuto chuckled spitefully.

I passed out once more.

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I woke with such a start that I literally leapt up and landed in a standing position. My breathing came out short and shallow. I spun in confused circles. I was in a dark cell with three cement walls, the last wall being nothing but thick, cold, iron bars. I staggered over to them and searched up and down the halls frantically.

_Where the hell am I?!_ I thought furiously. _How did I get here?!_

I couldn't remember a thing. The last memory I had…was being at home, in Kirigakure, with my parents. They were tucking me in to bed for the night. I remember them smiling at me and kissing my forehead before leaving the room.

Then a scream. One of them had screamed in shock, and the next thing I knew, I was knocked out cold…and now I was here. Where was I?! Why the hell was I here?!

Fear rose up in me, threatening to spill over in the form of tears. I started hyperventilating and clutched the bars with my small hands, shaking them back and forth violently, as hard as my arms would let me.

And they moved.

They _moved_.

I pulled away and staggered backwards in shock. The two bars I was holding a moment ago were now curved slightly outwards, then inwards again, and then back out. I slowly brought my shaking hands up in front of my face.

"Wh-what is this?!" I whispered. I had never felt…so powerful. It was so abundant, this strength…I could feel it growing with every second. My fingers were tingling. It spread throughout my hands, then my arms, until my whole body was almost bursting with it.

I smirked.

I stomped to the bars, grabbed one in each hand, and pulled them to the side as hard as I could. Rather than bending, they snapped with a loud clang, so suddenly that I fell forward into the hallway.

"What's going on down there?!" called out a male voice. I sprang up. _Damn, they heard me!_ I bit my lip and did the only thing I could think of doing. I turned on my heel and sprinted down the hall.

"Hey, get back here, you!!" the person shouted. I could hear his sandals slapping against the cement, the noise echoing throughout the halls. I was suddenly thankful to find that I was barefoot. But that didn't change the fact that the man was faster than me, and he quickly caught up with me and grabbed my arm. I spun around to face him. He had long, white hair that was pulled back and huge, round glasses. He glared down at me.

"You aren't getting away so easily, Kamiko," he snarled with a slight grin.

I just smiled again. More power seemed to rise up, bubbling within me. I pulled my fist back and rammed it into his stomach as hard as I could. He was sent flying back, skidding across the floor a good 20 feet on his back. By the time he'd gotten back up, I was long gone, racing down the many halls until I finally found the entrance to wherever-the-fuck-I-was. I jumped up the stairs and almost flew through the woods.

Where I was headed, I had no clue. Nor did I care.

A dark smirk spread across my face. "Whether they killed my parents or not, I'm definitely gonna have to thank them for this later," I said to myself, staring down at my hands.

* * *

"Look, I'm sorry," the guard said, "but I just can't let you in if you don't have permission or a passport."

"Are you kidding me?!" I practically shouted. "What kind of rule is that?! Would you have said that if I had staggered in here covered in blood and wounds?!"

"Well, I…uh…" The man tried to search for an answer to that.

"Exactly!" I growled, pointing a finger accusingly at him.

"What's with all the commotion?" came an elderly voice. We turned our vision to the old man walking towards us. He was dressed in red and white Kage robes. His face was deeply wrinkled, and he had strange markings running down his cheeks from his lower eyelid. He seemed like the kind of man you wouldn't start a fight with, no matter how old he was, but he had a grandfatherly feeling about him as well.

"This young girl wants entry into Konoha, but she has neither a passport nor permission, Hokage-sama," the guard said as he bowed.

The Hokage of the village turned his attention to me. "What brings you here to Konoha in the first place?" he asked kindly, yet seriously.

"Ah, I, uh," I stuttered out before bowing suddenly. "I-I escaped from a strange, underground…lair, I guess, uh, a few hours ago, and I've been running ever since. That's when I found this place," I explained nervously. I'd never been in the presence of a Kage before. It was a bit nerve-racking.

The Hokage's brow wrinkled even more, if that was even possible. "And why were you in this…underground lair in the first place?" he asked.

I opened my mouth to say something, but shut it once more for a short moment. "I…don't know," I mumbled out.

"What do you mean, 'you don't know'?" the guard demanded.

"I-I don't remember anything. The last thing I remember was being at home, in Kirigakure, with my parents. Then…then one of them screamed, I was knocked out cold…and I woke up in a cell…" I trailed off for a moment and stared at my hands. The Hokage waited patiently. "And when I woke up, I felt…so much power running through me…I don't know what they did to me, even who they are…" I looked up at the Hokage, who had closed his eyes. I was thankful for that, because I felt my eyes watering up.

"Well…I don't see anything wrong with you staying for a while, if that's what you truly wish to do," he said finally with a hint of a smile. I sighed with relief.

"But, Hokage-sama—" the guard started.

"Calm down, Gendo," the elderly man said. "She may be able to help answer some questions for us about a certain sannin," he added under his breath. Gendo's eyes widened and he nodded in agreement. When he turned back to me, I had one eye half closed and my head tilted to the side in confusion. The Hokage grinned.

"Why don't you come with me and we'll find you a place to stay?" He offered me his hand. I nodded and took it in my own as we walked down the path. My eyes fell on the mountain side, which had four heads carved into it, and…

"Ano sa…Hokage-sama," I said softly.

"What is it, Kamiko?" he asked.

"Are those faces up there supposed to be painted like that?" I asked innocently.

The Hokage's eyes widened and his head snapped in the direction of the four stone heads. He lowered his head and gritted his teeth. "Naruto…" I heard him grumble.

I giggled to myself. I liked this place already.

* * *

**Bit sinister, desu ne?**

**Alright, back to word so I can work on chapter 4, which will hopefully be up by tomorrow (can you tell I have NOTHING to do this spring break?!), so be on the lookout for it!!**

**Ja ne!**


	4. Massacre

**I'm sorry. I lied. This chapter is depressing and dark as well. BUT I SWEAR THE NEXT IS GONNA BE HAPPIER!! I swears it!! :P OK just clearin' this up now, this is told from Emi's POV when she's about 6. AND SHE DOESN'T KNOW THAT SHE AND NARUTO ARE RELATED, AND VICE VERSA. I'll explain why in a later chapter. Patience, young grasshoppah. Patience.**

**Hey, guess what? _I don't own Naruto!!_ Big shockah there. I know I forgot to say it in the other chapters, but I think it's apparent that I don't. So yeah. I don't. Except for the many OCs in it. Here's the chapter!! Sorry for the wait, so enjoy!! _THIS IS FOR YOU, ITACHI-SAN!! High five for Itachi from Sasori!!_**

* * *

_Dammit! Where's my kunai?!_ I growled inwardly as I almost destroyed my backpack in an attempt to find it. _I knew I had it yesterday, so why can't I find it now?!_ I bit my lip as I tried to remember where I'd left it. That was my lucky kunai that had never missed a target. There was no way in hell I could lose that thing. I put a finger to my mouth and stared at the ground for a good two minutes, earning many confused, if not amused glances. My head snapped up and I slapped my fist into the palm of my other hand when I remembered suddenly. "Itachi's house! That's right, I was training with him yesterday and I left it there!" I said to myself. More bewildered looks were shot my way, but I ignored them as I threw my sack over my shoulder and jogged towards the Uchiha compound. In my haste, I didn't notice a boy standing in my way and I knocked him to the ground.

"Woah! Augh!" he shouted in surprise as he hit the dirt.

I spun around to face him. His blonde hair spewed off of his head in long spikes, and his blue eyes could light a dark room for days. Whisker marks identical to my own adorned his cheeks.

"Ah, gomenasai, Naruto," I said, holding a hand out for him to grab. He grinned and hoisted himself up with my outstretched hand.

"Don't worry 'bout it, Emi," he said, still smirking. I half-smiled and nodded in response before turning and running in the opposite direction.

"I think that's the longest conversation I've ever had with that Uzumaki kid," I mumbled to myself. I turned my head slightly to get a look at him as he walked away with his hands in his pockets. "So…_he's_ the other kid who's like me…the kid with no family left," I said softly. I sighed and turned my head forward once more. Soon after, I spotted Sasuke sprinting towards the compound. He spun around when I called his name.

"Do you mind if I head over to your house for a minute? I left my lucky kunai there," I called out. He simply nodded, being the ever loquacious person he was. I smiled at him and earned a half-smirk in return as I caught up with him and we ran side-by-side to his house.

I wondered if Itachi was going to be there. I felt my face flush.

Okay, maybe it's a bit extreme for a six-year-old to be saying this, but I couldn't deny it. I was in love with Uchiha Itachi.

Bite me, why don'cha.

I was also conveniently best friends with him, which meant that I got to spend a lot of time with him. I went to his house almost every day, or at least every chance I could. I was one of the few people who could make him truly smile or laugh, like he really meant it. I started to grin at the thought of seeing him again. I think Sasuke noticed, because he smirked lightly to himself.

Both our smiles faded when we rounded the corner.

"Wh-what is this?!" I whispered.

Sasuke started to whimper and his breathing picked up in speed.

There was so much…blood.

It was _everywhere._

Bodies were strewn across the ground in ragged, damp piles. Weapons clung to the walls. Lanterns, doors, stands and signs were all torn to shreds and splattered with blood. I noticed my kunai sticking out of a stone wall, planted right in the center of the Uchiha crest. I jumped up and snatched it, clutching it in my in front of my body in a defensive stance.

Sasuke and I slowly walked through the streets, staring at the sight with bugging eyes.

"Wh-who did this?!" I heard him squeak. He leaned over an old couple that I'd seen him talk to a few times before. "Auntie…" he muttered. At that moment, something seemed to click in his mind, and he bolted down the road. Out of reflex, I shoved my kunai in its pouch and followed him.

The only thing I could think of was whether Itachi was alright or not. But there were so many lifeless bodies, flung carelessly across the path, lying like they'd simply dropped dead…I was starting to doubt that he'd survived. I looked at Sasuke out of the corner of my eye. For his sake, I hoped his parents were alright. His father was just starting to notice him, and his mother was the sweetest woman I'd met in my life. She was like a mom to me as well.

Without thinking, we quietly entered his home and softly walked through the halls barefoot. We checked Sasuke's room, then the kitchen, then the living room, even Itachi's room.

We found no one.

_**Thud.**_

We both gasped automatically. "Th-there's someone here," I breathed. Sasuke managed a sharp nod in response. We sprinted in the direction of the noise and froze in front of the door. We just…couldn't bring ourselves to move for a moment. I felt like if I made any sound, any movement at all, that I'd be slaughtered right then and there.

Sasuke was the first to move. He slowly, very slowly, raised his hand to grasp the door handle. I looked at him out of the corner of my eye once more. His eyes were wider than mine, the black irises no larger than his pinky nail. His lips were curled back over his clenched teeth in a frightened grimace. A bead of sweat dripped down the side of his temple. If I could've made my nerves work properly, I would have hugged him, but he swung the door open and stumbled inside. I followed almost obediently.

Sasuke stopped breathing.

Mikoto and Fugaku Uchiha were on the ground, one on top of the other. They're clothes were dyed crimson around the multiple slashes that adorned them. Their faces were full of pain, agony, sorrow…fear. Our faces reflected theirs.

A silhouette that vaguely resembled a man stood behind them. In his hand was a dripping, slender katana. Sasuke and I subconsciously moved closer to one another. "Who-who are you?!" Sasuke asked shakily. "Wh-what have you d-done to my p-p-parents?!"

After a long, agonizing moment that only lasted about two seconds, the man stepped forward from the shadows to reveal his face to us.

My heart skittered over a few beats. My throat closed up and my mouth went dry, as all the moisture in my face sped to my eyes and spilled over.

Red, Sharingan eyes. Black hair, pulled back in a low ponytail, with bangs falling haphazardly in front of his eyes. Tall, muscular frame. Two deep, long lines running from the bridge of his nose down his face.

"N-nii-san…?" Sasuke muttered in confusion. "N…nani? Wakarimasen…nii-san…" His eyes dripped over as well. "What happened to father…and mother?!" he shouted. He took a step forward towards his brother when something whipped past him and lodged itself into the door. I looked back in surprise.

A shruiken.

Blood suddenly spurted from a fresh cut on Sasuke's upper arm, making him grunt in pain and grab the wound.

Even in the dim light, we could see Itachi's eyes shift to a strange form of Sharingan that neither of us had ever seen before.

Suddenly, the sky appeared above us. We looked around to find that we were outside of the house. The sky was a churning, furious red that swirled around angrily and forced the black clouds to flow backwards. Sasuke and I looked at one another and tried to run, but our feet were stuck to the ground.

Bodies started falling all around us, like rain from the black clouds above us. Uchiha shinobi ran for Itachi with their weapons and their fire jutsus, but all fell to him in a bloody mass.

Instantly, we were back in the room where we'd found Itachi. He was now holding a sword above his parents, whose heads were hung in defeat.

"Nii-san…don't do that…to okaa-san and otou-san…" Sasuke said helplessly.

"Itachi-kun, stop this," I begged. "Leave them alone!"

A splash of crimson blood fell to the floor. I heard Sasuke scream in agony. He gripped his hair and threw his head backwards as he dropped to his knees. "NII-SAN!! DON'T SHOW THIS TO ME!! YAMERO!!" he screamed.

It stopped.

I fell to the ground next to Sasuke, who had collapsed to the wooden floor, saliva dribbling out of his mouth as he panted. I let my hands slap on to the floor to keep myself from falling forward and I tried to regain my breath.

"Wh-why…" I muttered weakly. "Why did you do it?"

Sasuke lifted his head slightly. "What did you…kill them for?"

Itachi shut his eyes. "To test the worth of my container," he said in his usual, deep voice. His tone made it sound like it was obvious, that we were idiots to not have known it.

Sasuke and I flinched.

"To…to test the worth," Sasuke grumbled, "…of your container?" He got up slowly. "That's why you killed them?!" I could feel his anger rising. I staggered to my feet as well. Fury bubbled up within me with every passing instant, but I stayed where I was. I knew there was no way in hell I could beat Uchiha Itachi, of all people.

Without warning, Sasuke charged for his brother at full force. "Don't fuck with me!!" he hollered. He lunged for Itachi, but only received a fist to the stomach. More saliva fell to the floor as the wind was knocked out of him before he fell to the ground. I gasped in surprise and stepped towards Sasuke when Itachi turned his attention to me. I froze.

His eyes pierced through me like the katana he held in his hand. They were cold, empty, flat…downright scary. I started to quiver violently in fear again. Sasuke scrambled to his feet and rushed out the door, while I remained in the room with Itachi, unable to move. He continued to stare at me. I searched his eyes desperately for some scrap of remorse, regret, sadness…anything.

All I found was murderous intent.

I staggered backwards after a moment and joined Sasuke as he ran down the road. Tears dripped down our faces onto our shirts.

"Please don't kill me!!" Sasuke shouted through sobs.

"Just leave us alone!!" I screamed. I had never been so fearful in my life, and certainly not of my best friend. Certainly not of the guy I loved.

We skidded to a halt when he appeared before us. A dark smirk played about his lips as he stared at us. Cold, shivering, wet from the tears and sweat, panting…pitiful. Weak.

Easy prey for him.

All Sasuke and I could do was stand before him, shaking and whimpering. I wrapped my arms around him protectively. I felt so pathetic, so hurt and upset and…betrayed, all at the same time. Itachi had betrayed his whole family, his parents, his friends, his own brother…and me. And there he was, grinning at the sight of our agony…my hands turned into hard, tight fists around the sleeves of Sasuke's shirt. Everything Itachi said to Sasuke next went over my head. My rage started to boil up once more. White, blind rage. I felt nothing but it. I didn't even notice that Sasuke had passed out in my arms until he started to slip from my grasp. I gently set him on the ground and kept my head lowered.

"Why did you do this?!" I hissed at him. "What in the hell is wrong with you?!" I looked up and unleashed the full fury of my eyes on him. He didn't even flinch. If anything, _I_ did under his gaze.

"Emi, I know you're an intelligent young girl," he said in a voice that made me shudder inwardly. "I don't think I have to explain myself once more. It's really a simple concept." His words were so hard and sharp, they mocked me. He was turning a compliment into an insult. That pushed me over the edge.

"Temee!! Ryuzakena!!" I shouted, far beyond infuriated now. I shot forward and held my hand at an arm's length in front of me, my lucky kunai appearing in my hand and my other arm protecting my exposed torso. A sinister grin flew across my face.

I didn't care that I was heading towards the man I loved with the full intention to kill.

He didn't deserve to be alive.

I leapt into the air and directed my weapon towards his neck.

The next thing I remember was being on the ground, bleeding from my forehead. I didn't even remember him hitting me. It was all too fast. I tried to stand up and attack him again, but everything went fuzzy around the edges. I managed to lift the top half of my body up and rested on my elbows. He stared down at me with no emotion in his scarlet eyes. Even so, looking at them made me sick.

"Emi," he said, his voice curt and loud. I jumped slightly. "What were you thinking just then?"

The question surprised me a bit. I stared up at him incredulously. "I was thinking about how much I wanted to kill you, that's what!" I spat. I felt my stomach coil after saying that.

"Kill me?" he asked in a slightly astounded tone. I glared at him.

"Don't mock me," I growled warningly. "I could take your head of in one swing!"

He chuckled. "And yet you're the one on the ground with a bleeding temple," he chortled. I snarled at him and attempted to stand once more, but fell forward. He smirked again. "You really thought you could kill me, didn't you?"

I didn't respond. Yes, I had. And that's what made me want to vomit. I loved him, and I wanted to keep loving him like I had before, but now that'd he'd done this…would I be considered a traitor to the village?

"Emi…" He leaned in closer to me and kneeled in front of me until he was at eye level. "Don't you understand?" Another dark grin took over his features. "You'll never be able to lay even a scratch on me. You're nothing but a weak, pathetic little demon kit who has no control over your own chakra."

I froze in place.

_Demon kit?!_

"Wh-what are you talking about?! I'm no demon!!" I sputtered. "Wh-where the hell w-would you get an id-dea like that?!"

Itachi leaned back slightly. "Aah, I see no one's informed you of this yet. It seems I'll have to be the one to explain." He leaned towards me once more until his face was a foot away from mine. I started sweating. "I trust you've heard the story of how the Fourth Hokage sealed Kyuubi and his kit into two newborn twins, yes?" he inquired. All I could do was nod. He grinned slightly.

"You were one of those children, Emi."

I almost fainted right there. "Wh-wh-what?!" I breathed. I fingered the whisker marks on my cheeks subconsciously. Itachi just nodded.

"That's right. The Kyuubi's kit is sealed inside of you at this very moment," he said, raising his eyebrows. "I wouldn't be surprised if one day it took over your entire body. I can tell already that you're nowhere near strong enough to contain it for much longer."

My eyes stung with moisture. "No…no, Itachi…Itachi-kun, you're lying to me!!" I shrieked.

Itachi shook his head. "I am many things, Emi, but I am not a liar," he said.

"Bullshit!!" I shouted. "You just killed your whole goddamn clan! How should I believe you this time?!" Tears flowed down my face again and onto the path.

"One day, Emi, you'll believe me," he said. His tone was so sincere, so truthful…that I found it hard not to believe him, no matter how much I wanted to.

My head snapped up when I realized something. "Wait…wait, you said twins earlier. Does that mean…" My eyes bugged and I started to breathe faster. "Do I have a sibling?!" I shrieked.

Itachi's brow rose once more. "You weren't informed about that, either?" He sighed. "Yes, you do have a brother." He sounded exasperated.

"Wh-who?!" I stuttered.

"Take a guess, Emi. Who else has whisker marks like those?" he asked, touching my cheek. Out of reflex, I smacked his hand away, then let my hand freeze in midair.

"N-Naruto?! Uzum-mak-ki Narut-t-to?!" I spluttered. "He's my b-brother?!" I scrambled to my feet as fast as I could. I had to find him. I started to bolt towards the entrance of the compound when Itachi stopped me.

"You tell him, and I'll kill him a lot sooner than I had planned to," he said, the venom practically dripping off his voice. I spun around to face him. His eyes were narrowed and shot right through me. I felt a rush of anger.

"Just try and stop me, bastard!" I retorted as I started to turn around. I hadn't even made it completely around before I found myself on the ground once again. My head throbbed furiously. I tried my hardest 

to stand back up, but fell forward and my face crashed into the ground. I felt blood trickle from my nose and split lip.

Itachi walked around me until he was standing in front of me, his arms crossed smugly across his chest.

Once the rage in me subsided, I felt it being replaced by…depression. I was a Jinchuuriki for six years without knowing it. I had a brother that no one told me about. It was no wonder that all of my so-called friends had always turned against me. Even Sasuke was bound to turn his back on me; I could feel it, even if I didn't want to admit it. Blackness started to surround me, sucking me into unconsciousness. I felt another tear drip down my face.

"Why does everyone I care about have to leave me?" I said softly before I gave in to the darkness.

* * *

**So, howd'ja like? Tell meh, please!! The next one's gonna skip ahead a few years to the Chuunin Exams. So yeah. Just puttin' that out there. That should be coming soon!! Ja ne!!**


	5. Introductions

**_-le gasp!- I'm alive!! I know, I know, it's taken over a MONTH to post the next chapter, but it took me THREE times to get this chapter write (it went from Emi's POV to Michiko's POV to the one you see now) so I'm sorry!! GOMENASAI, DATTEBAYO!! -bows five times- So yeah...this is the Genin team selection and introductions and stuff, so it's really, really uneventful and boring, but I'm not done posting for the day, so HA! XDD_**

**_A'ight, PLEASE review and give me any constructive criticism (I can't spell...) and such! And let me know if you don't understand something and I'll try to fix it! Arigato gozaimasu!! Enjoy!_**

* * *

My eyes widened at the three names on the sheet of paper I held in my hand. I looked up at Yamato with my jaw hanging slightly. "With all due respect, sempai…are you kidding me?!" I said incredulously.

He shook his head. "Nope, that's the team you're going to be training," he said casually with a shrug. "Is there a problem?"

I held the piece of paper above my head in exasperation. "Yes, there are a _number_ of problems!" I almost shouted. "First of all, _they're all girls!!_"

Yamato shrugged again. "I don't see any issue with that. We simply ran short on male students at the end of the team assignments," he said nonchalantly.

I pinched the bridge of my nose, irritated. "That wouldn't bother me as much if they weren't all…" I trailed off. I glared up at him. "Did any of you even consider what you've done here?!" I was yelling at this point. This was beyond ridiculous. Beyond reasonable, beyond insanity, even!

Yamato's laid-back expression turned serious. "Are you saying you aren't up to the task?" he inquired, a bit skeptically.

"No, of course not!" I responded automatically. I immediately realized what I'd just said and groaned mentally. What had I gotten myself into?! "A-ah, wh-what I meant was—"

Yamato held up a hand, signaling me to stop. "Naedo, do you really think we'd assign you to this team if we weren't absolutely sure that you were ready for it?" he asked, arching an eyebrow.

I opened my mouth to say something, then shut it once more. I couldn't find an answer to that at first. "Well, I suppose not…" I resorted with that as an answer. Yamato seemed to like it.

"Then there's nothing for you to worry about," he said with a half-smile. After a moment, his face shifted from slightly amused to stern…and slightly scary. "As for that little…issue…" he started vaguely, as it was regulations to keep on the down-low on that particular subject, "they haven't shown any indications that they're having problems controlling them. If anything, they've gotten better at it." His face brightened some. "Don't be so glum. Kakashi-sempai has it harder than you do," he added.

I chuckled in spite of myself. "Good point…" I muttered as I glanced down at the names on the sheet once more.

_**Takahashi Emi**_

_**Sakamoto Michiko**_

_**Hirakata Kamiko**_

_This is gonna be one hell of a ride_, I thought with a smirk.

* * *

_Wow, what a cheery bunch,_ I thought with one eyebrow raised as I looked over my new students.

One girl (the youngest, I guessed), pulled her black jacket around her sort-of-large torso before fiddling with her blonde and black streaked hair nervously. She glanced uneasily at the group before taking her glasses off and scrubbing them furiously, keeping her bright green eyes down as much as possible. I noticed a black crescent moon in the center of her forehead. I hadn't noticed that before.

_**She's**__ not self-conscious at all. She's worse than that Hyuuga heiress!_

The girl next to her looked like she was the oldest. She had long, blonde hair that was adorned with dark red streaks, some of it pulled back into a bun held with chopsticks. Her dark blue eyes looked idly over the horizon as she adjusted the strap of her tank top. Her feet kicked the water of the lake we were sitting at lazily. Each cheek was adorned with three black lines.

_Just like that Uzumaki kid Kakashi-sempai has to deal with…but she's the exact opposite…she's too calm, unlike him…_

Lastly, next to me, was a girl with short, brown hair, pulled back into two ponytails. The ends of her hair, about an inch up from the ends, were so blonde that they were almost white. Two strands of hair framed her face along with her bangs, which fell a little in front of her pure blue eyes. She set her hands behind her on the dock and leaned back, letting her head fall backwards to look at the clouds.

My eyebrows rose. _She's not bad-looking._ I thought with a light chuckle.

After a short moment, I clapped my hands together. "Alright, lets get started then!" I announced, making the three girls look at me expectantly.

"Started with what?" the eldest kunoichi asked.

"Introductions," I shrugged.

The brunette spoke up next. "How 'bout you go first?"

I sighed. "Alright, I guess I will," I said. "To start off, my name is Kiyobi Naedo, so you can call me Naedo-sensei." I looked up at the clouds. "I'm about fifteen years old, an—"

"Wait a second," the self-conscious girl said. "You're only fifteen?!"

I looked at her and nodded slowly. "Yes, I am."

"Aren't you a bit young to be a sensei, then?" the oldest girl asked.

I smirked. "That's not all. I also happen to be the youngest jounin ANBU member in Konoha," I said.

I almost burst out in laughter at their reactions. Each had the same wide-eyed, slack-jawed expression plastered on their faces. I settled for a grin and went on. "Lets see…what other generic things would you usually say in an intro…ah! Well, I do have some hobbies, like training, going on missions, creating new jutsus, then the usual, like reading, music, that kind of stuff. I excel in ninjutsu, and I can kick ass in taijutsu. It's genjutsu that I'm not perfect at, but I'm pretty damn good." I paused to think. 

"Hmm…things I dislike…any mission C-rank or lower, and anyone who tries to act like something their not."

This caught their attention. They all flinched and stared up at me, a bit surprised.

I acted like I hadn't noticed and sighed. "I already told you something special about myself, so…I guess that's about it. Who's next?" I asked cheerily.

After a moment of silence, the girl next to me took a deep breath, indicating that she'd be the one to start. "Uh, well…my name's Kamiko," she said with a small wave and smile. "I'm into music, drawing, training, that kind of stuff. I'm really good at taijutsu, and I'm decent in ninjutsu, but like Naedo-sensei, I'm not best at genjutsu," she said, looking at me out of the corner of her eye. Her cheeks turned slightly pink before she looked back at the lake. "I don't like limitations, if they're stupid. I like doin' what I want," she laughed.

I couldn't help but smile at that.

"And…something special about me…" She hesitated, her expression turning almost sad.

_There's definitely something special about her, the other two included,_ I thought with a raised brow.

"…Well, I was actually born and raised in Kirigakure, and came here about six years ago," she said, somewhat nostalgically.

"Really? Why'd you move?" the oldest girl asked.

Kamiko flinched. She seemed to mull over something in her head before she answered. "Uh, well…just wanted to see some new villages, I suppose," she said, brushing the subject off with a slight grin.

The youngest kunoichi stared at her skeptically with narrowed eyes before slowly looking back at the lake, her face looking somewhat hurt.

This didn't escape my sight. _What's she hiding…_I wondered to myself. "How 'bout you go next?" I said. Her head snapped in my direction.

"M-me?" she asked apprehensively.

I nodded, crossing my arms over my chest and looking at her expectantly.

She sighed and gave a small nod. "Alright…" she started, looking at the lake. "I'm Michiko. I-I like music, training, going for walks...I'm really good at ninjutsu, but I'm best at genjutsu. My taijutsu needs some work…" She fidgeted with her jacket again, trying to conceal her torso.

_She shouldn't be so conscious about that. At least she's not as blessed in that department as Akimichi Chouji is,_ I thought with a light smirk.

She took a silent breath before continuing. "If there's one thing I hate, its people who judge others before they get to know them first," she said.

My eyebrows rose again.

She hesitated on the last subject, just as Kamiko had. "And something…special about me…uh, well, like Kamiko, I wasn't born and raised here. I used to live in Sunagakure," she muttered finally.

Kamiko's ears pricked up at this. "Why did _you_ leave your village?"

Michiko opened her mouth to say something, letting it hang there for a few seconds. "Something…just happened one night…and I had to leave," she shrugged.

"What kind of something?" the eldest kunoichi asked.

Michiko's face turned a bit sour. "A bad kind of something." She didn't say anything after that.

Seeing that we weren't going to be getting any more answers from her, I looked at the last girl. "Your turn," I said.

The girl sighed and leaned back on her hands. "Kay. I'm Emi." She gave a small wave before continuing. "My likes include sleeping in, training, music, and ramen. Ramen's _good,_" she said with a grin.

Kamiko snorted slightly. "Who doesn't like ramen?" she said with a smirk.

Emi laughed lightly before going on. "I'm really good at ninjutsu, decent at taijutsu, and a bit shaky on genjutsu." She leaned forward to rest her elbows on her knees. "And the one thing I hate more than anything is secrets," she said seriously. I could catch a hint of bitterness in her voice.

I almost let out a chuckle. _Isn't that rather hypocritical of you? _I pondered.

A moment of silence past, signaling that Emi was done sharing. I groaned slightly and stood up. "Well, that's that, I suppose. Tomorrow, we start the real stuff," I said.

The three kunoichi stood as well. "What kind of real stuff?" Kamiko asked, cocking an eyebrow and crossing her arms.

I merely smirked in response. "I guess you'll just have to report to pasture right outside Konoha, and you'll find out."

* * *

**_Again, gomenasai for being so late!! -bows many, many times- But guess what? I've also finished two other chapters, so I'm gonna go post those right now!! PLEASE PLEASE PLEASE review, b/c it encourages me to write more!! I've got a bunch of ideas floating around for the next chapters, so yeah! Keep an eye out, and I'll try not to take as long, I swear!! Ja ne!_**

**_Sakamoto Michiko_**


	6. Test

_**A'ight, this chapter, compared to the last, is TONS more eventful and interesting, so I hope you like it! Second chapter in one day, and I've got one more to post, too! I'm just going one thing after the other, now! The next chapter is gonna throw you into the first major mission they have, so W00T!! XDD So, same as always, I don't own Naruto, and I'd love it if you'd review for me! Let me know what you think and all that jazz! Enjoy!**_

* * *

"Ohayo goz—" I was stopped before I can even finish my sentence.

"_Why in the hell would you make us wake up so damn early?! Are you mad?!_" Michiko, Emi, and Kamiko all yelled in unison. Their fists were balled up at their sides and shaking, their knuckles turning slightly white. Each one was gnashing her teeth in frustration. Though, thankfully, it went unknown by their other teammates, their eyes had also shifted in color.

I let out a sigh and shook my head. I was expecting this. "If you're going to make it in this world, you're gonna have to learn how to stay up late and wake up early, especially on important, high-risk missions," I lectured. "Besides, it's eight. That's not that early, compared to what you'll have later."

After a short moment, all three of them sighed and nodded, their eyes returning to normal.

"So…" Emi started after a minute, "what're we doing today, anyway?"

I groaned mentally. I didn't really want to tell them this. I had spent a good portion of the evening before trying to come up with a good excuse, a sufficient lie…but nothing really fit well. And honestly, I never really wanted to give them this test in the first place. I was confident that they were sufficient enough in skill to make it as shinobi, so I had planned to take it a bit easy on them.

If I had decided to put my full effort into this, they wouldn't last more than ten minutes.

But I was under orders, after all, and I had only recently become an ANBU a few months ago. The last thing I wanted was that rank to be taken from me for insubordination. So it was with a heavy sigh that I told them the real reason they were there.

And Kami above, did all Hell break loose. Again.

"_ARE YOU KIDDING ME?!_" Kamiko shouted, her eyes widening to the size of her fist.

"Why the _hell_ did we have to take that stupid test, then?! I trained like _mad_ for that!!" Michiko hollered as she threw her hands up exasperatedly.

I held up my hands in defense. "That doesn't matter right now," I said. "If you want to become full-fledged Genin, you just have to pass my test. That's it."

This caught their attention. "What's the test?" Kamiko asked eagerly.

"Simple," I shrugged. "You just have to be able to land two hits on me before noon. That's four hours, more than enough time. You do that, and you become Genin. If you fail to do so," I said in a grave tone, "I send you back to the Academy. Got it?"

All of them nodded excitedly.

I smirked. "Alright. Let's end the chatter now, then, shall we?" I crouched down slightly. "Ready?"

Michiko groaned slightly and clasped her hands together, stretching her arms forward and back, then stretching her first two fingers on each hand. "Yup," she said, mimicking my motions.

Kamiko was down so low that she was nearly on the ground. "Ready," she muttered with a grin.

Emi adjusted her Hitai-ate before putting her hands defensively in front of her. "Bring it on, sensei."

I nodded. "Yosh. On my count." I held up three fingers. "San…ni…ichi!"

And they were gone.

They'd disappeared as soon as I'd said the third number, leaving nothing but the grass swaying in their wake.

_Damn, they're fast,_ I thought with a smirk_. _

Nothing happened for a few minutes. Not a sound came from the foliage. No movement stirred around me. Not even a whisper or a breath._ At least they've got the stealth factor down,_ I noted.

_**Zip. Zi-zi-zi-zip.**_

I dodged the shuriken just as they whizzed past my face, nearly making contact with my cheek.

I smirked. "Good. Very good. But not quite good enough," I called out.

A curt laugh rose from the trees. "Is that so? Then how about this?!"

I didn't even have to look back to know what she was going to do. Instinctively, my fingers closed around Emi's fist as it flew towards the back of my head.

"Sorry, try again," I said, smirking.

Her face turned sour. "Ryuzakena!" she growled as her leg shot forward towards my stomach. I shifted my body to the right so it dodged the attack only slightly. Just as I thought, this only frustrated her more. She let out a snarl and aimed her next kick at my legs, hoping to knock me down. I released her fist and jumped over her leg, then spinning to face her. I pulled my fist back and thrust it towards her face.

_Kuso,_ I grumbled mentally when my hand made contact with wood. _Substitution jutsu._ I peered at my surroundings out of my peripheral vision. She had vanished from my line of sight. _Must've given up for now._

I was wrong about that.

"Take this!" Emi shouted from somewhere in the trees.

The next thing I knew, something really, _really_ hot was charging towards me. I spun around to find a huge, orange fox made entirely of fire. Its jaws snapped open and shut playfully, its yellow eyes flaring mischievously as it sped towards me.

My eyes bugged. "W-what the hell?!" was all I could say. How could a mere genin create a jutsu like this?! I mean, I knew Uzumaki Naruto was able to make a hundred Kage Bunshin…but this?! This was an incredibly strong, advanced jutsu! How long had it taken her to master it?!

I shook my head to clear my thoughts. I couldn't just stand there like a dumbass, staring at it! If I didn't move, I'd be completely enveloped in fire! I quickly jumped into the air and dodged the giant fox before its jaws closed around me. After letting out a steamy hot roar, it dispersed into the air.

I stood crouched down, ready for another attack (hopefully not another fire fox).

But nothing came.

For ten minutes, I merely stood there, keeping my senses focused on my surroundings, but gradually relaxing. _The jutsu must've taken up a lot of chakra,_ I decided mentally. _She must be taking a break._

At that moment, a small whimpering came from the ground by my foot. I flinched at the sudden noise. "What the…" I wondered out loud as I slowly looked down. A small, grey puppy was crouched down at my foot, rear in the air and tail wagging excitedly. Its tongue hung out playfully and it yipped happily.

My soft side for animals shone through and I was suddenly tempted to reach down and rub its belly, but I knew better than to take my focus off any fight. So instead, I looked back up and gently nudged the dog away with my foot.

Much to my annoyance, it instead growled and jumped right back, going back into its playful stance. I scowled at the tree ahead of me and kicked it away as gently as I could, which turned out to be harder than I'd intended.

"That hurt, jerk."

My eyes widened as far as they could without falling out. My head shot down to look at the dog. Its brows were knit together angrily. Narrowed eyes glared up at me in aggravation. "What kind of person kicks a dog?" it growled at me.

Now, most would criticize me for merely standing there, staring blankly at the dog and taking my attention off my surroundings, leaving myself completely open to an attack. Some would even go as far as to question why I was an ANBU member at all, the way I acted then.

But the dog talked, okay?

It _talked_.

Dogs are _**not**_ supposed to do that!

"What're you staring at?" the puppy teased. Its voice was feminine, and…familiar. "I wouldn't just stand there like that if I was you."

"H-huh?!" was all I could manage to say.

Suddenly, the dog leaped up and bit my shin as hard as its little jaws could. Which was pretty freakin' hard. I shouted in sudden pain and surprise, shaking my leg. "Dammit! What the hell?!" I cried.

Here again, you might be question just how capable of a ninja I am. Well, let's have a talking dog bite _your_ shin and we'll see how you react.

The dog smirked around my leg and scratched the skin with its claws, making me hiss in pain.

Then it released me.

And started _changing_.

Its small, light grey form started moving, even swirling slightly. It morphed and twisted and contorted and shifted in color as it grew in size and width.

After a short moment, its form finalized onto something that made me want to pinch myself, because I was _sure_ that I was dreaming.

"What're you looking so surprised for, sensei?" Kamiko asked with a coy smile.

She held up two fingers. "I got my two hits on you. That means I pass," she said triumphantly.

It took a second for it to process for me. "Wait, did—w-was that—"

"Yup, sure was," she answered. "My specialty. Shape shifting." She started to back away. "But I'll save that explanation for later. You've got two more kunoichi to face off against." She smirked and turned around. "Good luck, Naedo-sensei." With that, she sprinted in the opposite direction.

I stared off after her for a short moment. _Wh-what in the hell?! Shape shifting?!_ I thought, beyond stunned. _I-I've never seen a jutsu like that in all my life!_ I shook my head. _But I can't focus on that now. Kamiko's right. I still have two more left._ I crouched down into a defensive stance. _I have to be ready for them._

God, did I learn that these girls were full of surprises.

Because I definitely wasn't expecting to be completely encircled in a tunnel of shuriken and kunai.

I grimaced. "Genjutsu…but how?! And by who?!" I grumbled, irritated. These girls were better than I'd thought. Hell, I wasn't putting even half my effort into this! _Guess I underestimated them…a lot,_ I thought.

A dark chuckle resonated around me. "Aww, c'mon, Naedo-sensei, that was way too easy," the voice said.

I smirked. "So, Michiko," I said, recognizing the voice, "_you_ caught me. Kudos."

Four figures stepped through the tornado of weapons and stood around me. They all looked exactly like the young kunoichi, each with a matching, smug grin on their face. "Impressed?" they said slyly.

I let out a curt laugh. "I'll admit I am. How'd you get me caught?" I asked. I was genuinely curious about that. She wasn't dim enough to just throw out a bunch of hand seals and say a jutsu, I could tell that much. Still, I hadn't caught anything, except for earlier, when I'd felt one of their chakra levels flare up. But I'd only thought that one of them was getting excited about the fight…

My eyes widened when the realization came to me. Of course!

When she was stretching!

She'd formed three hand seals then without me expecting it! First Snake, when she'd clasped her hands together and stretched her arms, then Rat and Sheep, when she'd stretched her first two fingers on each hand! I ground my teeth together in frustration. These girls…for being so young, they certainly did have a lot of skill and potential. I should know, after all.

Each Michiko grinned wider. "So, you've figured it out, huh?" they said in unison.

"Pretty clever," I complimented. "But what're you gonna do now that you've got me cornered?"

All four of the Michiko clones stepped back into the whirlwind of kunai and shuriken, instantly vanishing once their backs touched the spinning metal. I took this opportunity to form a quick hand seal. The next thing I knew, I was released from the jutsu, safely hidden in the foliage, and standing in my place was a mere clone.

Not a second later, Michiko appeared, a scowl plastered on her face. "Shikusho! He got away!" she growled, her fingers curling into fists.

I couldn't help but smirk at myself.

Then I felt a small tap on my shoulder.

I froze instinctively, trying to sense what was behind me without turning around to face it.

After a second or two, a small pain shot across my shoulder where someone's fist made contact. I grunted and spun around, fist hurling towards the thing behind me.

"Augh! Itai!" Emi shouted when my hand connected with her upper arm.

I grinned. "Hmm. Well done, Emi. You were able to keep your chakra level down so I couldn't sense you at all. You even managed to get a hit on me," I congratulated her.

She took her arm off her arm and grinned. "Not entirely true. I actually got both hits that I needed on you to pass," she said.

My brow furrowed. "What're you talking about?"

Her face split wider into a smile. "You never said exactly how hard we had to hit you, or how, so technically, that tap on your shoulder counted, didn't it?" she said with a foxy grin.

My eyes widened, then narrowed, shooting a glare at her. "Damn you, Emi…" I growled.

A laugh escaped her throat. "A shinobi must always see the hidden meanings within the hidden meanings, sensei," she recited.

I rolled my eyes and turned back to Michiko, who was still standing in the clearing, clearly trying to come up with something to do. "Alright, you're through, then. But you know…" I trailed off.

"Nani?" she asked, falling off the branch intentionally and dangling off by her hands.

"…You and Kamiko are part of a team with Michiko. And so far, none of you have worked together, which is the whole point of a team, after all. Maybe you should help her out a bit, ne?" I said with a half-smile. "I think she's at a loss of what to do at the moment."

My assumption was proven correct when she groaned loudly and jumped up into the foliage once more.

Emi's eyebrows met, then she shrugged. "Alright, then. I'll see what I can do," she said, swinging off of the branch and jumping into the same tree Michiko was in.

I shut my eyes and sighed softly. _These girls…I've really got my work cut out for me, don't I?_ I thought.

At that moment, I felt a strong chakra heading towards me from the right. I stayed perfectly still until it got close enough to attack, then swiftly dropped to the ground and turned to face Michiko. She landed next to me and threw her fist at my head. I easily dodged it and rebounded with an elbow to her torso, though I didn't put too much force into it. Even still, it was enough to make her grab her stomach and cough once or twice. She let out a low growl and flung her fist at me once more. I grabbed her wrist before it could hit my shoulder and twisted it to the left, making her wince. In response, she yanked her arm away, jumped up, and aimed her foot at my stomach as fast as she could.

"Honestly, Michiko, you're gonna have to be faster than that," I said, shaking my head. I effortlessly pushed her leg aside, making her go off balance and fall to the dirt on her side. She staggered to her feet, examining the small cut she now bore. Her face turned to me to reveal irritation in her bright green eyes.

"Urusei!" she said furiously as she shot towards me once more. Instead of going for taijutsu, however, she formed a string of hand seals and took a deep breath.

Wind erupted from her mouth at alarming speeds, tearing grass out of the earth and ripping leaves from the branches, whipping them around violently. The wind kept coming unrelenting from her lungs, directed at me.

I grimaced. "Damn, her, too?!" I snarled, jumping into the air.

Only when I pushed off the ground, I didn't move up.

Four arms were wrapped around my own, holding me down to the ground. I looked down at my two other students, each smirking up at me.

"Go, Michiko!" Kamiko shouted over the rush of the wind.

"We got him pinned for ya!" Emi added.

A grin flashed across Michiko's face as the wind grazed over my body, slicing small cuts over my arms. I gritted my teeth. God, that did _not_ feel good.

The wind ceased almost immediately after that, and a fist connected with my shoulder. A laugh followed soon after.

"Yatta! I got my two hits on you! That means I pass!" Michiko shouted jubilantly.

Emi and Kamiko laughed at her glee and slapped fists with one another. "Omedetou, Michiko," Emi said with a grin.

"Arigato, Emi. You, too!" Michiko replied. She turned to Kamiko. "And you as well! You both had awesome jutsus!"

"Thanks!" Kamiko said, beaming.

I stared at the three kunoichi as they continued to congratulate one another. I sighed. "This really is gonna be one hell of a ride…" I muttered to myself.

And I couldn't suppress the grin that spread across my face.

* * *

**_Alright, guys! How was it? Please tell me!!_**

**_BTW, because I know this'll come up...yeah, Naedo's getting pretty beaten by three Genin, but keep in mind that he..._**

**_1) is going easy on them, like he said before_**

**_2) isn't really expecting three young kunoichi too be that good_**

**_And yeah, he's never met Kakashi's dogs, so that'd be why he's shocked when the dog (Kamiko) talks. I'll explain more about her powers later. Patience, young one._**

**_REVIEW PLEASE! Let me know if there's anything I need to change and such!_**

**_Sakamoto Michiko_**


	7. Nausea

**_Last chapter of the day, people! Haha, isn't it great that I haven't posted for over a month, and then I give you three chapters rapid fire? -le sigh-_**

**_Alright, I know I'm moving forward a bit fast, but I'm going straight to the first major mission, and it's a BIG thing. MAJOR character development, action, yadda yadda, that good stuff. :)_**

**_These next few chapters are gonna kinda be about Michiko. I'll get to Kamiko and Emi once the Chuunin Exams start. Major things are gonna happen to all of them then, but I'm getting ahead of myself. So, the usual stuff! I don't own Naruto! Only the OCs! PLEASE review and tell me what you think and give me advice and CC and all that! Thanks, and enjoy, as usual!_**

* * *

It'd been about a month since Kamiko, Emi and I had been officially made Genin. Since then, our days were filled with constant training and boring missions.

Honestly, we were twelve years old, and we were already trained assassins.

And the Hokage had us cleaning bathrooms and raking leaves?! Something just didn't fit for me there. We were all itching for a real mission.

So one would typically think that I'd be happy the day we received one.

But standing in front of the Hokage, and listening to the mission we were assigned…I don't think I've ever wanted to kill someone more than I did in that moment.

"_NO!_" I shouted loudly. "No, I am _not_ doing that mission!"

Naedo-sensei glowered at me. "Michiko, urusei! That's the Hokage you're yelling at!" he hissed under his breath.

"Kyou minai!" I retorted. "I _**refuse**_ to go on this mission!"

What the hell was the Hokage thinking?! Sending us _there_, of _all_ places!! Was old age finally making him senile?! I shot the old man a venomous glare. He merely shut his eyes and shook his head.

I felt my anger boil up even more. So he knew! He knew why I was so furious about this mission, and he was _still _making me go! Didn't he realize…?!

"Why? It's just an escort mission. Would you rather go back to picking weeds and cleaning graffiti?" Kamiko asked with a furrowed brow. Emi stared at me in confusion as well.

"Yes, compared to this!" I spat back, colder than I'd intended, apparently, because they both recoiled slightly in surprise.

Naedo threw a glare at me, the kind only a sensei could give; the kind that made you feel suddenly guilty, upset, angry, ashamed, and embarrassed all at once. "Michiko, the Hokage wants us to go on this mission, so we're going on this mission, and that's final, you got that?!" he said sternly, a hint of anger present in his voice.

My hands balled up into shaking, white fists at my sides. It took every ounce of willpower I had in my body not to shove them into his stomach. Instead, I turned on my heel and headed for the door.

"You are to leave within the next two hours. Be ready at the entrance in that amount of time," the Hokage said in his gruff, grandfatherly voice that I wanted to silence _so_ bad right now.

"Wakateru, Hokage-sama," Naedo-sensei said. He and my teammates bowed deeply.

I slammed the door shut.

"Michiko, choto matte!" Kamiko called after me.

I ignored them as they continued to call after me. I eventually broke into a sprint towards my apartment.

"Damn," I heard Emi say. "I wonder why she's so worked up. We're just going to Suna."

* * *

I walked slowly to the entrance of the village, not in any rush at all. My hand clutched the strap of my backpack, shaking violently.

I'd never been so afraid and furious at the same time.

I wanted nothing to do with that village. I had planned to stay as far away from it if I could.

If I went back, I had a very likely chance of being killed. And not from the villagers, either. Their beatings, I could take. I had taken them for six years of my life.

But the Kazekage was a different story entirely.

After all, I'd escaped. There wasn't a doubt in my mind that that man still wanted me dead, and he'd probably do anything in his power to see that goal through.

A realization hit me. What if that was the reason he'd sent these merchants over for us to escort back? What if he'd planned this out, so he could finish what he started?! I felt my pulse quicken and a drop of sweat slide down my neck. _No, that can't be it,_ I reassured myself. _After all, any team could've been sent as an escort._

_Unless, of course, he had requested my team._

_But how could he know what team I was on, or who my sensei was? Hell, how could he even know where I was? I never made any inclination as to where I was going, I just ran…unless he tracked me down…_

I gnashed my teeth together. "Shikusho…" I grumbled under my breath. "Just relax. Think of something positive about this…"

Well, for one thing, I'd get to see Kankuro, Gaara, and Temari again, hopefully.

I missed Temari. She was the best friend I had, even if we weren't close friends. I could talk to her without her flinching away, or ignoring me, or ridiculing me. She understood better than Kankuro why I was upset half the time, and she was always one of the few that would always smile at me, now matter the situation. She never once got angry at me, nor did she shut me out.

And Kankuro…we weren't incredibly close, but we were friends, still. I talked to him once in a while, we played jokes on Temari occasionally, when we got bored, and he sometimes let me hide in his bathroom whenever his father was angry, because that was always the one place he'd never search. Though I still didn't know if it was out of kindness, or annoyance, because the beatings were so brutal at times that I simply couldn't hold back my yelps and cries.

Looking back, I could tell those two were somewhat forcing themselves to be nice to me. Or at least, Kankuro was. Truth was they were probably scared witless of me, though not as much as they were of their younger brother, since I had a bit more control over Houkou than he did Shukaku.

Yeah, Gaara. Though I'd never talked with him much, I felt an odd sort of bond with him. We were both Jinchuuriki, after all, which I was surprised that he never knew about. And he _was _a nice guy. I'd talked to him a handful of times, and I'd always left him with a smile and a wave, and he always smiled back, even if only a little. Especially the last time I'd seen him…

'_Get out of here as fast as you can!'_

'_Go to Konoha if you must! Just get out of here! It isn't safe for either of us anymore!!'_

'_I promise I'll find you somewhere, wherever you're going. Iko! Hayaku!'_

'_YASHAMARU!!'_

I flinched. That same night…I'd never seen him so angry. Or upset.

And what about Yashamaru? Why did he do that? I trusted him…no, we all did…and he suddenly tries to kill Gaara and me?! He could've easily gone against the Kazekage's orders, so why didn't he?!

I looked up at the sky as I continued down the path. Had Gaara made it through that? Whose blood had I seen that night?

Why hadn't Gaara come to find me like he'd promised?

"Michiko!! Oi, hurry up, osan!!" Emi called, waving a hand up in the air.

"We're about ready to leave!!" Kamiko added.

Pushing the thoughts of my old…friends…from my mind, I snapped my head down and sighed curtly. "A'ight, I'm coming!!" I answered, sprinting up to meet my team.

"Ready to go, Michiko?" Naedo-sensei asked, crossing his arms.

I nodded reluctantly. "Where are the people we have to escort?" I wondered aloud.

"We're meeting them up ahead, at one of the training grounds. There was quite a large group, about 15 merchants, I think, so they had to wait a little ways ahead," Emi explained as we started through the gates.

I gulped softly and felt my stomach crawl. Would they recognize me? What would they say if they did? What would they do? The thoughts were making me nauseous. I tried to convince myself that they wouldn't remember me.

No such luck.

As soon as we met up with our group and introduced ourselves, all they could do was stare at me and snicker.

"Is that really her?" a bald man asked the woman next to him.

She flipped her long, chocolate-brown hair over her shoulder and sneered at me. "Yeah, that's her, all right."

"I heard that she'd died a long time ago," said a girl that looked a few years younger than us.

"Guess not, but I wish she had," said the person that I assumed was her father, as he pulled her closer to him. "Just stay away from her. She's dangerous, unstable. I don't want you talking to her or going near her, you got that?"

The girl nodded and looked at me fearfully. I felt a strong twinge of pain in my chest and lowered my head, letting my hair fall in front of my eyes.

"Hey, wait a minute!" came Emi's voice.

Everyone turned to look at her, curious about her sudden outburst.

"I don't know what you've got against Michiko," she went on, anger coloring her voice, "but she's sticking her neck out to keep you all safe, so the least you could do is show her a bit of respect and not talk trash about her." Kamiko nodded vigorously in agreement, her eyes heated as well.

The group stared at her for a moment, then turned their line of sight to me once more before turning around and walking forward.

I looked at Emi and Kamiko and mouthed a 'Thanks for that', to which they nodded and half-grinned.

Naedo-sensei drifted towards me. "You alright?" he asked softly.

I looked up at him and nodded. He returned the gesture and walked to the head of the group.

I sighed and flipped the hood of my black jacket up.

This was going to be a long mission, and it couldn't end soon enough.

* * *

**_OK, how was it? Anything I can fix, or improve on, or clarify? Did I do a good job? Was it horrible? Let me know!! Alright, well, that's all I've got for you tonight, and I might not be able to post again for a while, since exams are coming up, but school's out in a few weeks, so I can write like MAD then!! Thanks for being so patient! -bows- Let me know if I'm going too fast or something!! God, I'm so paranoid as to how good of a job I'm doing...I'll shut up now! Ja ne!_**

**_Sakamoto Michiko_**


	8. Suspicions

_**Alright, new chapter! Didn't take as long as last time, but I'm sorry for the delay, anyway. OK, uhm...I was a bit uncertain about putting some of the stuff that I put in here, but I did anyway...so we'll see how this turns out! I'm really sorry if it sucks!!**_

_**'Kay, uh, I've had someone say a few times that they don't really understand Japanese, so they don't know what they're saying sometimes, so don't worry, dude-whose-name-won't-be-said-cuz-that's-just-rude, I'll post a random chapter with a bunch of Japanese phrases!**_

**_I tried to clear up any confusion from last chapter, cuz I'll admit, it was a bit confusing and jumbled. Let me know if I did a good job or if I still need work on clearing something up!!_**

_**A'ight, Imma gonna play some Guitar Hero now!**_

_**DISCLAIMAH: I don't own Naruto. -sob sob-**_

* * *

-Emi POV-

I hate deserts.

I _hate_ them.

It's too hot and it's humid as hell and the sand is too soft, so you sink ten feet underground if you stand still for more than a minute and there are scorpions and lizards that keep crawling on you when you try to sleep and there're no water or plants and hardly any food and no shade from the sun…I could go _on and on! _Even better; it was only our second day in the desert!

Yet, being the good little genin escort that I was, I didn't complain once.

_As soon as we get back to Konoha, Naedo-sensei better be ready to hear an earful or two from me,_ I growled mentally. _Damn, was this why Michiko didn't want to go on this mission?_

The thought of her made me turn my gaze to my teammate. She still had her hood up and was walking slowly, dragging a bit behind.

The merchants had finally shut up and had quit ridiculing her, but I could still here them snicker, or see them glare at her. It pissed me off to no end, but again, I had to be the obedient little shinobi and earn the village its money, so I bit my tongue.

Though I was curious as to why they hated her in general, one comment caught my attention the night before…

'_I don't know…' a female voice said softly. 'Are you sure that's her? I mean…she hasn't lost it yet. With the stuff Kikyou and Tamaru have been saying, I would've thought she'd have lost it by now.'_

_Was that sympathy I sensed in her voice? I shook my head slightly and continued to feign sleep as I listened to the two peddlers._

_A guy's voice spoke next. 'I'll admit, I wouldn't have recognized her if her sensei hadn't have introduced them at the beginning. But when the breeze picked up, I stole a glance back at her. It blew her bangs up, and there it was, clear as day,' he muttered back._

_The woman took in a sharp breath. 'Really?! Are you sure?!' she breathed._

_There was silence after that. I figured that the man had nodded and they'd gone to sleep for the night._

_After about ten minutes, I quietly sat up and looked at Michiko. She had fallen asleep against her will, it seemed, because she had passed out sitting up, arm resting on her bent knee and head on her arm. Her other arm supported her, so she remained upright…or at least, as upright as you can be when you've fallen asleep sitting up in a desert of annoyingly soft and squishy sand. A small grimace was on her face._

_I squinted a little. Her choppy bangs had fallen a bit to the side. I could very faintly see something black underneath them, though I couldn't make out what it was. I sighed in frustration and confusion, falling backwards onto my jacket-turned-pillow…_

All day, I'd been trying to steal glances at her any time the wind picked up. If I got caught, I just pretended that the breeze had blown sand in my eye, and I usually didn't have to fake that part, either.

Overall, I had no luck. _She did a good job of keeping her face hidden today,_ I thought, a bit miffed that my attempts weren't working.

Kamiko walked over to me and leaned towards my ear when no one was watching. "Find anything out?" she murmured.

I shook my head, then whispered back, "You heard, too, huh?"

She replied with a nod. "What'd ya think they were talking about?" Her blue eyes flickered with an emotion that I couldn't catch before she stole a glance at Michiko.

I stared at the sand, watching my exposed toes disappear among the grains. I had an idea…I just wasn't sure if I could believe it, or wanted to, for that matter. So I simply responded with an "I'm not sure."

I don't think she really bought it, because I received a skeptical look through narrowed eyes. Kamiko sighed and joined me in looking at the sand. "Maybe we can get it out of her tonight, ne?" she suggested.

A smile tugged at my lips and I shrugged one shoulder. "It's worth a try, I guess."

* * *

Kamiko softly shook my shoulder, making me jerk awake.

"Dawn's coming soon. If we want answers, we'd better get them now, before we have to leave," she said quietly.

I yawned and nodded, sitting up quickly. "Alright, thanks for waking me," I muttered. We softly walked past the caravan and to the spot where Michiko was sitting. She was staring at the dimming stars, looking really bored.

Kamiko and I sat down next to her. I crossed my legs and grabbed my ankles, staring at her. She didn't take her eyes off the sky, but she gave us a smile. "Hey, guys," she said.

"Yo," I responded.

"What's up?" Kamiko asked next.

Michiko shrugged. "The stars, currently."

I snorted. "True, very true."

"Augh!" Kamiko grunted, shaking her hand violently. She let out a stream of curses under her breath. "Damn scorpion! Shikusho!"

Michiko smirked. "A scorpion isn't _that_ bad, you know," she said, matter-of-factly.

I arched an eyebrow. "Oh, c'mon. You've lived in this desert for half your life, right? You're used to it, then," I said.

She flinched, but nodded after a moment and smiled. "Yeah, guess so," she said, still smiling.

God, she sucked at faking.

But we were getting somewhere, now. If we just asked the right questions, we might be able to weasel what we wanted out of her. I hated prying into her personal life, but I desperately wanted to know why all the merchants hated her so much.

And I really hoped that my suspicions were wrong. I mean, there couldn't be another person out there like me and Naruto…right?

"Speaking of which," Kamiko started, leaning backwards a bit, "you never answered my question the first day we met."

Michiko looked at her, confused. "What question?" she asked.

"Why'd you leave Sunagakure?" Kamiko asked, her voice serious.

Michiko's eyes grew a bit wide. She looked down at the sand, fiddling with it idly. Clearly stalling for time. _This is starting to get a bit annoying_, I thought. _How hard is it to just tell us what happened? Is she afraid that we'll ridicule her or something?_

"You never actually answered that question when Emi asked you, either," Michiko shot back with a smirk. "Why did _you_ leave?"

A jolt ran through me. That's right…there was something about Kamiko, too. I bit the inside of my cheek. I thought _I_ was the only one keeping all these secrets…then I met these two. What the hell were they hiding?

Kamiko flinched at the question and started fidgeting with her hair. "Uhm…well…" she started.

Both I and Michiko stared her down, waiting for an answer.

She let out a long sigh. "Truth is…I don't remember," she said, almost sadly.

I arched an eyebrow. "You don't remember? How can you not remember?" I asked incredulously.

A dark smirk invaded her face. "That's a very good question, isn't it?" she said blackly. "The last thing I remember was being at home with my parents, and the next thing I knew, I was in some goddamn cell and my parents were dead. I don't even know how I got there, or why…"

A sad pang ran through me. Her face looked so sad and confused. I couldn't help but put an arm around her shoulders.

"I'm sorry about that," I said sadly. Kamiko responded with a nod and half-smile in thanks.

Michiko's eyes were popping out of her skull. "Kamiko…that's really horrible. I'm so sorry for you," she said. Said kunoichi gave her the same reply she gave me.

I took my arm off Kamiko's shoulders and sighed. I had no idea that there were people out there who'd gone through worse than I had. Granted, I had a horrible past. My only friend was Itachi, and just look at how that turned out. Everyone else in the village scorned me and adults beat me every chance they got. It got so bad one day that I almost lost an arm. Iruka-sensei happened to be in the area at the time and had stopped the woman who'd caught me before she could bring her knife down on me.

But Kamiko…she'd been kidnapped or something, and both of her parents were murdered. It must have been so much harder for her to lose them. I didn't even know who my parents were, and had lived my entire life without them.

_I wonder what happened to her while she was in that cell, or why she was even there,_ I pondered mentally._ I hope it was nothing bad…_I decided to ask her. "Do you know what happened to you in there? Or who did it?" I questioned.

Her grimace spread. "I…don't know who did it to me…but…" she trailed off.

I nodded, signaling her to go on. "But what?" I urged.

She sighed. "They did something…and when I woke up, I felt more powerful than ever, and…well, I really don't get it. All I know is that I got a lot more powerful and I'm sure as hell gonna thank them for that later." Her face went from glum to rather evil. I smirked, but it didn't reach my eyes.

_Kami above, not her, too! She wakes up after her parents die and is suddenly more powerful than she was before?! Dammit!_ I shouted in my head. _And I think she knows it, too. She's pretty good at bluffing…_

Kamiko turned her attention to Michiko. "Alright, I've spilled. Your turn," she said with a raised brow.

She seemed like she was expecting that, because Michiko sighed and nodded. "Fair enough…" she muttered.

I leaned forward subconsciously, eager to hear what her story was. Kamiko did the same.

"What happened was…" Michiko started slowly, "…one night, when I was six, a person I thought I could trust betrayed me and attacked me and a…" She paused briefly. "…A friend of mine."

My eyes bugged. "Really?!" I breathed. I got a nod in reply.

Kamiko gave Michiko a hug. "I'm so sorry for you, too," she said with a frown. Michiko put a hand on Kamiko's arm and nodded.

"Why did that person attack you? Who were they?" I said in a rush.

"He was my friend's uncle, and…I have no idea why he attacked us," Michiko answered.

Something told me that half of that response wasn't true. And I highly doubted she'd lie about who would try to murder her. I let it slide for the moment, because Kamiko had asked the next question.

"What about your friend? Have you heard from them? Are they OK?" she asked, releasing Michiko.

The youngest kunoichi shrugged. "I have no idea how he is, and I haven't heard a word from him since then. But I sorta doubt that he's alright…" she muttered. "And the thing is, he promised me that he'd meet up with me, wherever I went. He said he'd find me, and he apparently hasn't." Her expression was so worried and sad.

I bit my lip now. It seemed like she'd had a worse off past than Kamiko did, based on what I actually knew about both of them. Then something occurred to me. "What about your parents?" I asked, my eyebrows knitting.

Michiko sighed sadly. "Don't have any. I was born an orphan," she said in a glum tone.

I gnashed my teeth together. All the pieces were coming together easier than I thought. At this point, there was hardly a doubt in my mind. No parents, ridiculed by the village, an assassination attempt on her…it all fit so well! _If I could just figure out what exactly the peddlers last night were talking about…I'd know for sure,_ I thought.

And, of course, just as I opened my mouth to say something, Naedo-sensei had to pop up behind me and practically _shout _in my ear. If he wasn't a jounin that I was supposed to respect – and didn't have a hope in hell at beating – I would have smacked him. I shot him a glare, for more reasons that one.

"What's the look for?" he asked innocently, obviously clueless about what we were talking about.

I merely shook my head and got to my feet. Kamiko and Michiko joined me.

"How much longer?" Kamiko asked, eager to leave. I could tell in her eyes that she was anxious for another chance like tonight to find out more about Michiko. I narrowed my eyes at the sand. But there was something about her, too…_Kuso! They couldn't put me on a team with two other people like me…right?!_ I thought incredulously.

"We should be there in another few hours, no later than three in the afternoon," Naedo informed us.

Michiko flipped up her hood once more as the peddlers started gathering their things and heading towards the direction of the village. "Then lets get moving," she said simply, turning on her heel without another word.

Naedo-sensei shook his head solemnly and followed her, Kamiko and me trailing after him.

"I think he knows something we don't," Kamiko whispered to me.

I nodded in agreement. "We could ask him…" I thought aloud.

Kamiko shook her head. "He'd never tell us," she said back. "What about the merchants? They might tell us…we could try." Her voice was rather hopeful.

"Uh-uh," I grunted. "No way. They're all just a bunch of bastards. I'm not going to give them the satisfaction. They'd probably just start taunting her again if we bring it up."

"Yeah, good point," Kamiko said with a sigh. "Well, we'll figure it out eventually," she muttered finally.

I nodded. "Before we get back to Konoha, we'll know for certain."

* * *

Naedo-sensei was right. We had caught sight of the village entrance by around two o'clock, and by the time we reached it, another 45 minutes had passed. I was surprised; no one had attacked or ambushed us. We didn't even have anyone following us. Then again, we had been escorting at least 20 people, and what they were selling wasn't very valuable, so it made sense.

Once we arrived at the entrance, each of us flashed the guards our passports. I noticed the guard's eyes grow wide when Michiko handed hers over. His look of shock was replaced with a smirk, and he spitefully called his friend over to see. Some of the merchants started laughing along with them.

"Hey!" I shouted suddenly, grabbing everyone's attention. "Michiko's had to put up with all of you for three days, and hasn't complained once. Cut her some slack, alright?!"

"You're lucky she even bothered to protect you all," Kamiko added.

Not one apology or sympathetic glace was received. I sighed curtly and walked through the gates and down the long tunnel into the village, following Michiko and Naedo-sensei. Once we were inside, we broke off from the merchants after they paid us. Frankly, I was glad to be rid of them.

"Where are we going now?" Kamiko asked.

Our teacher turned his head slightly. "Well, before we head to where we are staying—"

"Choto matte," Michiko interrupted. Her eyes showed anger, but they were covered by fear. "We're staying the night?!"

Naedo nodded as if it was obvious, which it was. "But first, the Hokage-sama has requested that I report something to the Kazekage."

Michiko froze. Her eyes bugged past the perimeter of her glasses, her fingers spread as far as they could, her jaw hung slack, and her eyebrows knit together. She didn't even seem to notice when her hood blew off, exposing her face to all of Suna. "N-n-nani?!" she stammered.

"Yeah," Naedo said, once again, as if it shouldn't be a surprise. "Is there something wrong with that?"

Her bright green eyes flickered with fury and terror. "YES!!" she screamed, making everyone on the trail turn to look at her. "I am in _no way_ going anywhere _near_ that man, and there is _no way in Hell_ you can force me, you got that?!" Her fists were shaking at her sides, and her lips were curled back over her teeth in anger—wait, were those fangs?!

Not a second later, she gripped her forehead and squeezed her eyes shut, groaning softly through her teeth…or fangs. Her whole frame started shaking rather violently. The air around her turned sinister. It made me shudder.

"Michiko, daijoubu desu ka?" Kamiko asked tentatively, her voice coated in concern and, if I wasn't mistaken, fear.

Michiko remained in her pained position for another few seconds, then sighed and nodded, her eyes still shut. Her face relaxed somewhat, so she didn't look like she was being stabbed or something. "Let's just get there now and get it over with," she growled blackly before turning and walking briskly to what I assumed was the Kazekage mansion. We had to practically jog to keep up with her.

We reached the large building within fifteen minutes, Michiko leading the way. As we approached it, I let my head loll back and stared up at all of the houses, shops, apartments and such. Everything was so…brown. Not that I was surprised; this _was_ the Village Hidden in the Sand, after all, but I still expected to see some color. Even so, I'd never left Konohagakure before, so being in a new village such as this was an interesting experience, to say the least. A bit exciting. And now we were going to meet the leader of the village! Granted, I had met the Hokage of our own village many times, but he was more of a grandfather to me and the other Genin than the ruler. Now I was going to meet the ruler of another village, representing Konoha for everyone else. I had to set a good impression.

But what had gotten Michiko so worried and upset? And what was that feeling before? Was it…I shook my head subtly. _No, they can't be…honestly, what are the odds? Don't think thing like that,_ I scolded myself. _Bad things happen to good people a lot. After all, we are shinobi._

It was a pretty convincing thought. I suddenly felt a lot better and wasn't as suspicious of Michiko and Kamiko. I blew the weight off my chest in a long, happy sigh, but almost ran into Michiko when she'd stopped abruptly.

"Whoa! What's wrong?" I asked, slightly oblivious.

"We're here," Naedo answered for her.

I looked up. Sure enough, there it was. I couldn't help but gape for a moment before I realized that the others had already started to head inside. I quickly followed, falling in step with Kamiko.

The building's lobby wasn't crowded, but there were a fair number of people around. Some old fossils that I guessed were like the Elders in Konoha, some other random villagers, and a few jounin, from the looks of it. All of them had neutral clothes that made some of them blend into the tan walls around us, and they all bore black, brunette, or blonde hair, except for two boys, who had blood red and dark purple hair, and one girl, whose hair was snowy white.

As we ascended the stairs, I could feel the atmosphere grow darker and darker. I shuddered. I was starting to feel a little jittery and sick. What the heck was this?

We stopped in front of a large door. A small sign above it read "Kazekage" in blue Kanji.

The bad aura was strongest from this room. I winced. Is this what Michiko was so worked up about?

Naedo lifted a hand and lightly rapped on the door.

"Enter," came a voice from inside. It was gruff, commanding, arrogant…and creepy.

I gulped softly as Naedo-sensei opened the door slowly. There weren't many people in the world that could have my stomach doing acrobatic maneuvers without me even seeing them. And there I was, feeling a little queasy.

I couldn't _wait_ to meet this guy.

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**_OK, that's a wrap for this chapter! Thanks for reading, and as always, review and such!! The next chapter is from Michiko's POV, just a head's up._**

**_Gawd, I had something else I wanted to say...but I forgot. TT-TT_**

**_OK, to any of my friends from DeviantART, if you wanna leave a review, go on ahead! You don't need an account, and I'd love to hear what you have to say!! Please? TTATT_**

**_'Til next time, fare thee well!_**

**_SakamotoMichiko_**


	9. WORD DICTIONARY

**Alright, kiddies! Since I use the Japanese language quite a bit in my writing, I thought I'd be nice and give you a little dictionary so you actually know what I'm saying! Aren't I thoughtful? XD I know a lot of these are generic and used a lot, but you never know, there's always that one person who has no clue (and that's not a bad thing!), so yeah! I don't know if the spelling is right on some of these, so I just spelled them phonetically 'n stuff, so sorry if there are any spelling errors! I'm also sorry if the definitions are off! Please let me know if there are any errors, or if I left one out that I've used!**

**And yes, some are swear words, so sorry for being so explicit!**

**A'ight, here ya go!**

* * *

_**Hai-**_yes

_**Iie-**_no

_**Konnichiwa-**_good afternoon/hello

_**Konbanwa-**_good evening

_**Ohayo/Ohayo gozaimasu-**_good morning

_**Arigato-**_thanks

_**Arigato gozaimasu-**_thank you very much

_**Ryuzakena!-**_Don't screw with me!

_**Kuso!-**_Shit!/Damn!

_**Shikusho!-**_Damn it!

_**Dobe-**_dead last/failure

_**Baka-**_idiot/fool

_**Usuratonkachi-**_Idiot

_**Gaki-**_brat/kid (kind of an insult)

_**Gomen/Gomenasai-**_Sorry

_**Sumimasen-**_excuse me

_**Kyou minai-**_I don't care/not interested

_**Yamero-**_stop

_**Urusei-**_shut up

_**Kuzakena!-**_Damn you!

_**Omoshiroi-**_interesting/fun

_**Kami-**_God

_**Wataka/Wakateru-**_I understand/Got it

_**Wakarimasen-**_I don't understand

_**Nani?-**_What?

_**Doushte-**_Why?

_**Taskete!-**_Help!

_**Iko/Iikuso-**_Go/lets get going

_**Hayaku!-**_Hurry!

_**Matte/Choto matte-**_Wait

_**Temee!-**_Bastard!

_**Jinchuuriki-**_literally translates to 'human sacrifice' and is the term used for a person who has a demon (bijuu) sealed within them (i.e. Naruto, Gaara, etc. etc. etc.)

_**Bijuu-**_tailed beast or demon (i.e. Kyuubi, Shukaku, Houkou, etc. etc. etc.)

_**Ai-**_love

_**Shinigami-**_god of death

_**-kun**_ is a suffix that you add at the end of a boy's name, typically if you like them or they're your friend

_**-chan**_ is a suffix you add at the end of a girl's name, if they're your friend or if you like them, or if they're younger than you

_**-san**_ is a suffix that you add at the end of a name if they are at a higher rank than you/older than you

_**-sama**_ is a suffix that you add at the end of a name if they're at a high rank, like the Hokage/Kazekage

_**-sensei**_ is a suffix that you add at the end of your teacher's name

_**-sempai**_ is a suffix that you add at the end of a name if they're an older classmate (i.e. Sakura calls Lee 'Lee-sempai' once or twice b/c he's older)

_**Ja ne**_-see you later (used by Kakashi often)

And, of course, if you haven't been watching the Japanese version, whenever Naruto says _**dattebayo**_ (or just adds _**–ttebayo**_ at the end of a word) it's basically 'Believe it!" just a lot cooler. And Japanese. Woot!

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_**Again, correct me if I'm wrong, and let me know if there are other words you don't understand!! PLEASE review my story, and enjoy, people! Ja ne!**_


	10. Violence

_**Wow, it didn't take me a month to post this one! :D I'm sorry in advance if I don't update often. My older sister is coming this week (HOPEFULLY) to stay for a few days, so I won't get to really write that much, and I've definitely got a busy month coming up! I'm going to Japan!! -Smitteh squeals and faints- I've been there once before, and it is absolutely AMAZING. I'm so stoked to be going again. I'm going with People To People with, like, 40 other students, and I've already made some friends, some of which are Narutards like meh!! -le sigh!- Life is good...Another reason I might not update is b/c I'm starting to work on an original story (which I don't think is very creative so far, but we'll see! I just really wanted to write it) and sometimes I just get so sucked into writing it that I forget about this one! -smacks face- I might post it on DeviantART if I like it enough...**_

**_A'ight, back to this story. So, as you can see below, it's from Michiko's POV. I reeeeeeeally hope this doesn't suck. TT-TT I added in another Japanese phrase but I don't know if I spelled it correctly. If I don't know the spelling, I'll always spell it phonetically. The phrase, BTW, is Doyu cotoda (_Dough-you co-to-dah _is how you pronounce it) and it means 'What do you mean?' LOL rather ironic there. Anyway, there you have it! I tried to end on a cliffie, see if I was actually capable, and I think I did a good job on that._**

**_As always, review and such! Hell, flame me if you want! :D Enjoy!_**

* * *

_-Michiko POV-_

He hadn't changed at all in the past six years. The only difference there seemed to be was a couple more wrinkles on his pale, greasy face and tiny flecks of silver in his brown, unkempt hair. But everything else was a sick reminder of the first half of my life and what I'd endured, night after night after night. I winced. All those memories that I'd tried to shut away burst through the wall in my mind, flooding my head. A sharp jolt of pain ran through my chest as he turned his vision to me. A grin spread across his face, revealing his yellow teeth and swollen gums. I stared at the floor.

"Welcome, welcome to Sunagakure," he said in a warm, inviting voice. I winced again. It was so fake, even Naedo-sensei could tell. His brow rose slightly, but he bowed deeply, motioning for us to follow suit. I grimaced, but bowed anyway, though it pained me to do so. What had this man done to deserve my respect? Yeah, beating two six year old children. _Real_ honorable.

"I trust your trip here was safe?" the Kazekage continued, sitting in his chair.

We looked up. "Yes, Kazekage-sama. There were no issues or any attempts of ambush or attack. Everything went smoothly," Naedo reported in a very formal tone. I had to admit I was surprised at how proper his voice sounded.

"Good, good, I am pleased to hear that," said the Kazekage. His attention turned to me and my teammates once more. I averted my eyes to the floor again.

"So, Michiko-chan, I see you've returned," he nearly spat, his once friendly act being overtaken by pure hate. I bit my lip and squeezed my eyes shut. I knew this was coming. Even that small comment had my senses jumbled in fear.

To my surprise, a small giggle came from the person to my right. I looked up slowly to see Emi, hiding a smile behind her hand and laughing lightly.

The Kazekage's face turned sour. "What do you think you're laughing at?" he demanded harshly.

Emi only giggled again and shook her head slowly. "I already don't like you," she said, still grinning.

I couldn't suppress my smirk. I saw Kamiko's face split as well. Naedo coughed into his fist, though I saw that he was trying to hold back his laughter. For his sake, I hoped the Kazekage didn't notice. Once he'd gotten control of himself, he nudged Emi's arm, signaling for her to stop. "Sumimasen," Naedo said, bowing halfway. "I will make sure she's punished for that later."

Emi shot an incredulous glare at our sensei, then sighed and shook her head.

The Kazekage nodded. "Good," he said sternly. He folded his hands on the table. "So, I was informed that you had a message for me from Sarutobi-san?"

Naedo-sensei nodded. "Hai. The Hokage was going to send you a message by post, but found it more convenient for me to report verbally, since we were already in the village."

The Kazekage nodded impatiently, waving a hand to signal him to continue.

"On the first day of July, the Chuunin exams are to take place in Konoha once more. If you have any teams you wish to send, you are encouraged to do so, and they will be welcome into the village as long as they have permission."

Shutting his eyes thoughtfully, the Kazekage nodded a third time. "I see. Very well. Thank you for informing me of this," he said in a bored tone. "Is there anything else you had wished to tell me?"

I prayed to any god that would listen that the answer was 'no'.

"No," said Naedo-sensei.

I let out a breath that I didn't realize I was holding. Good, now we could get as far away from this wretched man as possible! I was home free, and not even a scratch! I was so elated that I felt myself starting to grin.

"Very well then, you are dismissed." His cold gaze turned to me. "Except for you, Michiko. I'd like to speak to you in private."

I felt my heart explode. My eyes bugged and instantly stung with tears, though I blinked them back. My pulse rocketed, my mind reeled, my stomach clenched. _Fuck no,_ I wanted to scream in his face. _Get the hell away from me!! _

But I had no choice. So I merely bowed with the rest of my team and waited for them to leave. None of them made a reassuring gesture or comment, though I didn't expect them to.

The door clicked shut, and I suddenly felt six again. Defenseless, fearful, hopeless…

The Kazekage slowly stood from his chair and strode over to me. I kept my head lowered.

"What's wrong, Michiko?" he asked sweetly. I nearly gagged. "You know, I've been wondering. Why did you leave all those years ago?" He smirked. "Temari and Kankuro have missed you so."

My stomach jumped at the sound of their names, then did another flip. He hadn't said Gaara's name. _Oh, God, no…_

I glared at the floor and bit my tongue.

"Michiko, you should respect your elders and answer them when they are talking to you," he said, his voice sharper, though still sugar-coated. I still didn't respond.

I suddenly flinched when he laid a finger under my chin and lifted my face up to meet his. I quickly jerked away from his grasp before I could stop myself. "Don't touch me," I blurted, instantly regretting what I'd said.

His eyes narrowed and his lips curled back in a snarl.

_**SMACK.**_

His palm had collided with my face at full force, making me stagger backwards and gasp in pain. I looked up at him over the rims of my glasses. His grimace was replaced with a sinister grin. My fists balled up at my sides and it took every ounce of will power I had to keep myself from knocking his ass onto the floor. All it'd take was one more offense…

"Hmm, I've missed that," he said nonchalantly, turning around once more.

_**BAM.**_

I couldn't restrain myself. My fist collided with the back of his head, sending him forward to clutch his desk in surprise and pain. His eyes turned to me, murder gleaming in his pupils. But I didn't shudder or look away. I merely stared back at him, returning his glare a thousand-fold. "I don't live here anymore," I said hotly. "I'm not even a member of this goddamn village anymore. To Hell with all that 'respect' crap. If you want me to give you any fuckin' respect, you better give it right back, you got that?!" I nearly shouted, not bothering to lower my voice.

I didn't bother to listen for his response. I pivoted around and stormed to the door, slamming it shut behind me. Naedo, Emi and Kamiko all stared at me with matching expressions of disbelief and horror. "D-did you just—" Kamiko started.

"So what if I did?" I said back before practically sprinting down the stairs. My teammates ran after me, calling my name, though I didn't respond. I was soon far ahead of them among the long hallways and staircases. I shoved through the main doors and walked briskly through the streets, not really sure where I was going. The only place I wanted to be at the moment was as far away from that bastard as I could get.

Even in the furious state I was in, I didn't fail to notice the stares and shouts of surprise I received as people recognized me. It only fueled my anger. If this got any worse, it could end up dangerous. I had to get somewhere I could calm down, and _now_.

In my haste, I hadn't noticed someone walking towards me and I collided with them, sending the both of us to the dirt. I groaned and grabbed my shoulder, looking at the person in front of me. "G-gomen," I muttered, hastily standing up with him. I quickly glanced at him. He was wearing all black, from his hat to his sandals. He carried a long, wrapped object on his back, and his face was adorned with purple Kabuki paint. I started to walk away once more when he grabbed my arm.

"W-wait a second," he said suddenly and urgently, which surprised me. "Are you—are you Michiko?"

My stomach dropped and rose again. Oh, damn, I didn't need anymore ridicule right now. I tried to break myself from his grasp, though he held tight. How did he know it was me?! Then I realized; my bangs! They'd shifted to the side, revealing the giveaway sign—a small, black crescent moon on my forehead, curved side down. I frantically pushed my bangs back in place and averted my eyes. "Let go of me," I ordered gruffly.

When I stole a glance at him, I saw that his eyes were bugging. "Y-you're really Michiko?!" he stammered. "Hey, don'cha remember me?" His tone was rather hopeful, but I was too agitated at the moment to wonder or care why. Instead, I wrenched myself from his hold and hurried away, ignoring his 

calls for me to wait. I realized after a moment that I was sprinting, but didn't stop for a long time, until I reached a clear training field, void of any other human life. I let out a roar of fury and punched the sand below me as hard as I possibly could, making a few tiny waves that skirted across the ground, like a ripple. I snarled angrily and searched for something else to take my rage out on, only to find nothing but sand. Big shocker.

I dropped to my knees and gripped the sides of my head, clutching my hair tightly. My head was throbbing viciously. I'd been too careless; the demon within me, Houkou, was starting to get restless and excited. I could feel him shifting playfully in my mind. I stayed in that position for a good five minutes as I attempted to settle him down, a grimace stuck on my face for all to see. Eventually, he calmed down. The sudden slow of blood flow to my head made me momentarily dizzy, but I shook it off and stood. I decided to head back to where we were staying for the night; I'd rather find my team before long and avoid them having to search for me throughout the entire village. So with a weary sigh, I flipped my hood up once more, made sure my bangs were in place, and set off slowly back towards the center of the village that I knew so well.

* * *

The light breeze of the night toyed with my hair, flinging a few strands in front of my eyes. I brushed them aside lazily and set my hands down behind me, leaning back on them. I was on the rooftop of our guest home, if you could call it a home. Naedo-sensei, Kamiko and Emi had already fallen asleep. I couldn't blame them; it was well past two-thirty in the morning, and I, usually being the first asleep, was surprised that I wasn't the slightest bit tired.

Then again, how could I sleep? Staring at all of Sunagakure from the high rooftop reminded me why I'd once loved this village so much, and still did. It really was nostalgic. The light of the nearly-full moon glinted off the miniscule grains of sand, making them sparkle and glisten like golden water. The wind weaved in between the buildings, cooling off the streets and roofs and swirling wafts of sand through the air. No clouds blocked my view of the countless stars above. Hardly a soul was awake and moving at this time of night.

I leaned back further until I was resting on my elbows and forearms, letting my head loll back and stare at the stars happily. A small smile appeared on my face. I'd missed this place, as much as I hated to admit it. I loved Konoha and the people I'd met there, don't get me wrong. None of the other Genin (and hardly any adults for that matter) knew my secret, and I was able to develop some friendly relationships with a few students (I shied away from the term 'friend' ever since my last night in Suna), like Uzumaki Naruto and Inuzuka Kiba. And my teammates and I had clicked nearly instantly, no questions asked.

But no place in the world could replace Sunagakure at night. I was absolutely certain of that.

"You seem to be enjoying yourself," said a familiar, friendly voice. My grin spread.

"Konbanwa," I said to Kamiko and Emi, hoisting myself up as they sat down next to me. They each waved and smiled. My eyebrows knit together. Something felt wrong. "What's up?" I asked.

Emi smirked. "Well…can you blame us for wondering…?" She trailed off, though I knew what she meant.

I sighed and shook my head. "Look, I'm not crazy, alright? There was a good reason as to why I punched him," I said.

"What kind of reason?" asked Kamiko with a dry laugh.

I let my head fall back once more to gaze up at the sky. I was silent for a moment before I answered. "I…I just haven't had a very good relationship with that guy in the past."

Kamiko's brow rose. "Doyu cotoda?" she asked.

I scowled slightly. Emi seemed to notice. "Listen, we aren't trying to pry or be rude," she said quickly, "but…well, y'know…if half the village apparently hates you, well, we'd kinda like to know why."

"Yeah, I understand," I said, nodding. "I would want to know, too."

A strange look crossed both of their faces, but just as soon as it'd been there, it vanished. I acted like I hadn't noticed and stared at the roof now, thinking of how to answer her question.

"You can tell us, Michiko-chan," Kamiko said, putting a hand on my shoulder. "We won't tease you or anything, if that's what you're worried about."

I half-smiled, a bit blackly. _That'll be a load of bull once you find out_, I thought. But something about these two…it just made me want to tell them so badly. I wanted to spill my heart and soul out to them and have them listen, and I didn't care how they'd respond.

I sighed. _They're bound to find out sooner or later,_ I resolved mentally. _Might as well…_ I slowly took a deep breath and opened my mouth to speak.

But I quickly shut my mouth again. I had sensed something…odd. And it wasn't familiar. I started to turn about when Emi and Kamiko spun around and Kamiko gasped in surprise.

"Michiko, MOVE!!" she hollered.

* * *

**_Alright, for those of you who are gonna say "What does 'doyu cotoda' mean?", all I'll say to you is "Read the author's note at the beginning!" So there. P LOL Did i do OK on the cliffie? The next chapter is gonna be intense if I do it right. As always, let me know what you think, even if you wanna say that I'm the worst author in the universe! I want to hear your opinions, honestly. Thanks for reading!_**

**_SakamotoMichiko_**


	11. Black Eyes

_**Well, here's attempt number 2 on this chapter. I think this is a lot, lot better than the last one, but then again, it's about 50 times as long, and I'm not sure if I should have made them--well, you'll see and be able to tell me what you think. Gawd, I think I'm getting worse at writing rather than better...**_

**_Alright, I'ono why I never said this before, but I'm gonna say it now. A lot of the ideas (like, maybe half or something...a fair amount of them) come from my friend, Emily (AKA Itachi or Emi. Yes, Emi. Emi is based off Emily. XDD). Honestly, she just comes up with ideas for any story whenever I'm stuck, so rather than this being my story, it's just as much hers as it is mine. And I don't know why I never said that before. I'm so horrible...So thank you very very much, Emi-chan!! :DD_**

**_Well, on to the story!! Sorry for taking so long to update, but I went to Japan (FREAKIN' AMAZING!!) and then went to Ohio to visit family, and my grandpa had a mini stroke, so I had to stay longer, and I have summer reading to finish up (and I should be doing it right now...) and getting ready for school...needless to say, I've been a tad busy. I can't guarantee I'll upload a lot, even though I want to, so we'll just see how everything plays out, ne?_**

**_PLEASE let me know what you think!! I'm worried I dragged it out a bit too long or put in things that weren't necessary...and I'd love for you to tell me if that's so!! So please review and enjoy!!_**

* * *

_-Kamiko POV-_

"Michiko, MOVE!!" I shouted, leaping to my feet. She and Emi followed, Michiko squeaking a bit in surprise. There was a soft '_thunk_' noise as two kunai lodged themselves into the thick tiles where we were once sitting.

I stared at the two weapons in shock. "Wh-what the hell is going on here?!" I breathed, backing further away from the two kunai.

Emi crouched down in a defensive position, showing her teeth in a snarl. "Where are you, bastard?!" she growled, clearly not happy about the situation we were in. I noticed Michiko was staring into the night, face void of any emotion besides pure fear.

"I said _where are you?!_ Show yourself, you coward!!" Emi shouted, fists balling in front of her.

I knelt down and swiftly grabbed the two kunai, holding them before my body. "Don't make us come over there and search for you!" I warned, keeping my voice steady.

"Calm down," a gruff, male voice said from the shadows. "I'm not here for you, or the other one."

His answer was a bit confusing; I couldn't help but ask which one of us he meant.

"This one," he said with a chuckle.

A scream of shock followed, and Michiko was suddenly gone.

"Whoa!! What the…Michiko? Michiko!! Where are you?!" Emi shouted, spinning in frantic circles.

"Aww, son of a—we gotta find her!" I said to Emi, who nodded vigorously. Without another thought or word, we started leaping from rooftop to rooftop, searching for any sign of our teammate. We didn't have a lead or a clue as to where she could have been, but after about five minutes, we didn't need one.

The air had turned sinister around us. It was the same feeling I'd gotten earlier when Michiko had learned about meeting the Kazekage, and I'd also felt it slightly as she'd left his office. It was familiar, but in more ways that one. Too familiar.

"You feel that?" I asked Emi shortly. She nodded her head. We didn't have to speak to know that was where she was, and we headed in that direction.

Before too long, voices could be heard.

"Give it up, demon brat!"

"No, I—I'm not a demon! Don't call me that!!"

"Demon?" Emi and I said that the same time. We picked up speed, forcing chakra into our feet to push us along.

"Oh, I'm sorry, did you prefer the name 'monster'?"

"No! I'm not a monster, either!!"

"Then what are you, besides worthless and hated?"

Metal clashed twice, followed by an eerie silence. The kind of silence that made you wonder far too much. Anything could be happening in that silence. Michiko could be dead. The shadowed man could be dead. They could both be dead. I shuddered.

Without warning, the wind picked up significantly, whipping violently in big circles, like a cyclone. The rings of wind started to become concentrated towards the area Emi and I were headed in. We both exchanged wary and confused glances before pressing on faster than before.

"_**I dare you to call me a monster one more time, asshole!!"**_

I nearly stopped short and missed the jump to the next roof.

"_**Go on, say it!! Say it, you coward, SAY IT!!"**_

"Is—is that Michiko?!" Emi murmured in shock.

"_**What's the matter?! Aren't you gonna say anything?! C'mon, make this more entertaining for me!!"**_

_Entertaining?! Is she kidding?!_ I thought, eyes bugging. _What's happened to her? The Sakamoto Michiko I know would never say something like that! Just what has she become?!_

My question was answered, but I soon wished that I'd never learned the truth.

When we landed on the rooftop she and the man were on, I almost had to look twice to find her. The girl I saw wasn't Michiko. She shared the same glasses as her, and had the same clothes and hair as her, but I refused to believe that was her.

Her eyes had turned completely black, wide as they could go. Long fangs that went far past her bottom lip were barred in a stomach-twisting grin. Her hands were scrunched into half-fists, claws taking the place of her short, bitten nails. Two stripes of blue had painted themselves across each of her cheeks. The wind around her whipped her hair up, and that's when I saw it; a small, black crescent moon in the middle of her forehead. The area around her seemed to pulse with energy.

It was demonic. That's the only way I could think of how to describe it.

The man from the shadows was cowering before her on his back, one shaking arm raised in front of him defensively. I could hear his teeth chattering.

"_**Fine, then,"**_ the kunoichi before us said. _**"I'll make the first and final move."**_ Her voice was black and dark, a bit of a growl behind every syllable. Emi and I shuddered from behind her.

She slowly raised both arms up until they were straight out in front of her, her smirk spreading farther across her face. Each arm started to glow—one light blue, the other vibrant yellow.

I stole a glance over at Emi. Her eyes were as big as her fists, her jaw slack and eyebrows curved down in confusion and downright fear. My face mirrored hers.

I could hear my heartbeat in my ears, and I hoped that girl couldn't hear it, too.

The man scrambled back further, mumbling incoherently. I could make out things like "Please, no! Don't! I beg of you! Have mercy!"

And that girl started laughing.

From her blue arm shot a long, slick stream of water that snaked its way around the man and coiled around him, completely engulfing him head to toe. He struggled to free himself, to breathe, but to no avail. Slowly, as if savoring every moment of his agony, she laid her yellow hand on top of her turquoise one. There was a loud crack, and sparks of lightning and electricity shot from her fingertips, mixing lethally with the water that ran from her hand to the man.

His shrill scream made my breath catch in my throat for a good minute or two.

With a loud thud, he fell to the shingles in a heap, his eyes wide and starch white, tongue hanging slightly out of his mouth, forever open in a silent cry.

The kunoichi sauntered over to him, kicking his head so hard I heard his neck snap. _**"Well, even if he didn't fight back, it was still fun, wasn't it?"**_ she said to someone.

Then she turned to face us.

"_**Well, look what we have here…"**_ she said sadistically.

I stopped breathing again.

Step by step, she moved closer to us, her grin never fading, her eyes always wide and wild. The aura around her was suffocating, unlike anything I'd experienced from another person. Her clawed fingers twitched, and I noticed sparks shooting from them both.

I knew that if I didn't make a move, we were both going to die.

Unable to come up with a plan, I gave in to instinct.

A snarl plastered itself on my face. I reached around to where my weapons pouch should be and grabbed a handful of clay. As quickly as I could, I spread it across my entire arm and concentrated my chakra to that area.

"_Tatazumai koutai no jutsu!!_ The Art Of Shape Shifting!!"

The whole limb became a glimmering, slender katana in seconds.

With a shout, I leapt to my feet and sprinted towards her, the katana far in front of me and pointed towards her shoulder. _If I can wound her, even if only a little, it might be enough to calm her down and get her to stop. I don't want to kill her_, I vaguely thought.

"Kamiko, watch out!!"

Emi's shout pulled me out of my brief thoughts to find that the kunoichi was no longer in front of me. A sharp pain in the back of my neck told me she was behind me. I lurched forward and grunted, grabbing my neck with my normal hand.

In one swift motion, I spun around on the ball of my foot, leapt into the air, and brought the sword down towards the girl's shoulder. It connected, digging in an inch or two. She howled in pain, grabbing her bloody shoulder.

I stumbled backwards, wiping the clay off my arm and replacing it into the pouch.

I had relaxed too soon.

The girl's shoulder wound healed right before my very eyes, hissing and giving off steam as the blood evaporated and the skin closed once more.

"Damn it all!" I grumbled, crouching down. "Now what do we do!?"

"Lemme try, then," Emi said, masking her fear with her usual, confident smirk that scrunched up her whisker marks. After forming a few quick hand seals, she shouted the jutsu's name and shot towards the black-eyed kunoichi.

"_Taijuu Shuriken Jutsu!!_ Multi Shuriken Jutsu!!"

She reached into her weapons pouch, leapt into the air and flung a single shuriken at her opponent. She made a quick hand seal, and instantly the weapon had been cloned into at least fifty other stars.

Emi thrust her arms forward and around until she was hugging herself, and the floating weapons zipped towards the girl all at once.

But she was gone.

The shuriken landed with a _'thunk'_ sound, lodged into the rooftop. There wasn't a trace of the girl.

Emi growled deep in her throat in frustration. "Shikusho!!"

"_**Looking for me?"**_

Both of us squeaked in alarm. I spun around to see the girl that looked like Michiko, standing with her arms crossed smugly. _**"You two are pitiful!"**_ she spat, grinning.

She drew closer and closer to us, slowly raising her arms until they stuck out in front of her once more. Both glowed with a red tint.

Emi and I stepped backwards with every step she took forwards. If the girl in front of us couldn't hear my heartbeat now, she was deaf. I could feel it pounding in my throat, my chest, my ears, my throbbing neck. My whole body shook uncontrollably. My breathing came in short and out heavy. I started to feel dizzy.

I squeezed my eyes shut, waiting for it to end, waiting to be engulfed in water and shocked to death, like the shadowed man from before.

"Wh—what the hell is going on with me?!"

My eyes snapped open to look at her. Now _that_ was Michiko's voice. While her fangs and face markings remained, her eyes had returned to normal, staring blankly at her glowing arms. "Oh, God, don't—" She cut herself off by dropping to her knees and grasping her hair, snarling in an almost animal-like way.

"Michiko!!" Emi said, rushing towards her, one hand extended.

"Get away from me!!" Michiko shouted, still growling. She seemed like she was in immense pain. Emi drew back.

Without warning, Michiko's head shot up to reveal black eyes once more. She lunged for Emi, making her scream in shock. "Michiko, stop!!" I shouted, stumbling towards the two.

I saw Michiko's eyes flickering from black to green to black once more. She seemed to force herself to stop, then she bit her own arm with her long fangs. Blood splashed onto the floor.

"Get out of here!! Run, hurry!!" Michiko shouted, her voice muffled by her bleeding arm. She started jerking back and forth, struggling with herself.

Emi and I watched in stunned shock. I couldn't force myself to move for a while. _I can't just leave her, not with her in this state. She could kill herself!_ I thought.

"_**If you won't do what I want willingly, I'll have to force you!!"**_

I flinched. It was that strange, deep voice again. The words came from Michiko's mouth, but I knew that wasn't her talking.

There was no other explanation for it. She _had_ to be a Jinchuuriki!

She started shaking violently, forcing her teeth further into her arm before she jerked her head backwards, revealing her onyx eyes.

I looked at Emi. "What the hell are we supposed to do?!" I said in a panic.

She shook her head. "I…I haven't got a clue…unless we want to kill her!" Her eyes looked torn and painful.

"_**Just try to!!" **_the deep voice shouted. Once again, she jumped for us, claws extended.

Then she fell to the floor.

Needless to say, Emi and I were a bit confused. "Wh…what the…" I murmured, stepping towards Michiko.

"Are you two alright?"

I jumped a good two feet in the air, spinning around to find the source of the voice. Emi and I came face to face with Naedo-sensei, his face as serious and concerned as his voice. "Answer my question, you two. Are you alright, or not?" His tone showed that he wasn't joking around, which was unlike him.

Emi and I nodded. I tried to hide the fact that I was still shaking.

"What'd you do?" Emi asked cautiously, stealing a glance back at Michiko. I looked back as well. She lay in a heap on the roof, looking as if she were merely asleep. She no longer had fangs or claws, or stripes on her cheeks, but the crescent moon remained.

"That doesn't matter right now. Let's go. We're being watched," he said softly, walking towards Michiko and picking her up.

Emi and I looked at one another in surprise, then we both scanned our surroundings, looking for anyone who could've been watching. I could have sworn that I saw someone on one of the rooftops a few houses down, but I blinked, and whatever it was had vanished.

"Emi! Kamiko!" Naedo barked, causing us both to flinch before following obediently.

* * *

Naedo sighed and hung his head once we'd finished telling him what'd just happened. He fell silent with a grimace on his face.

"Naedo-sensei, just what happened to her?" Emi asked, leaning forward. "You know, don't you? You just aren't telling us." Her tone was accusing.

He remained silent.

"Goddamit, why aren't you telling us?!" I blurted, thoroughly frustrated. "We just got attacked by our teammate! Don't you think we have a right to know?!"

"She's the same as you two," he said finally, fists balled. "All three of you are the same."

"The same?" Emi asked, voice full of confusion. "Doyu cotoda?"

"What do you think I mean?" he said icily, clearly exasperated.

I caught on after that. My eyes bugged so much they watered. "You can't mean that! You mean they're both—"

"That's what I just said, wasn't it?" he retorted.

Emi and I stared at one another in shock. "You have a demon in you, too?!" we both said at the same time.

Naedo sighed.

Emi leapt to her feet and pointed at me, a grin on her face. "I KNEW IT!!" she shouted gleefully. "I knew it all along!! Oh yeah, who called it?!"

"Whoa, wait a sec!" I yelled as I climbed to my feet as well. "You knew all this time?! And…and you weren't…" I didn't know how to finish that sentence.

Emi sighed. "Well, I wasn't completely sure, but I had my suspicions about you and Michiko," she explained.

"Speaking of which…" I said, looking back at Naedo, who was pinching the bridge of his nose. "Is that why Michiko went insane tonight? Because of her demon?"

After a short moment, Naedo nodded slowly.

I looked over at the spot Michiko was in. "Whoa." I couldn't think of anything else to say but that.

"Yup," Emi replied. She looked down at Naedo, who was still furious. "What're you so angry about, anyway?" she asked.

"Because I never wanted to go on this mission. I knew something like this would happen," he said, tone stressed. "I knew I should have asked Hokage-sama to send another team…" He punched himself in the forehead.

"How did you know something like this would happen?" I asked, cocking my head to the side.

Michiko groaned softly then, hoisting herself up from the sand.

"I think you should ask her," Naedo said as he looked back at her.

Michiko seemed to jump when she realized where she was. She stared at her shaking hands for a moment before scrambling to her feet.

"Oi, Michiko, choto matte!!" I called, running towards her.

She spun around to face us, eyes full of confusion.

"It's alright, Michiko, we know why you did what you did," Emi said calmly once we'd reached her.

Her eyes bugged. "You—you do?!" she squeaked. She looked like she was going to kill someone. "Who told you?! How did you find out?!" she demanded.

"Whoa, calm down, man!" Emi said, holding her hands up.

"It's alright. We're the same as you are," I added. "We have demons, too."

I thought she was going to faint. "Huh say WHA?!" she shouted, jaw hanging to the floor. "You're kidding me. You gotta be shittin' me!"

I shook my head with a smirk. "Nope. We're all Jinchuuriki, minus Naedo-sensei."

Her mouth snapped shut. "Oh…uhm…" she looked down at the sand awkwardly. "Ok then…well, this is rather weird."

I couldn't disagree with her.

We walked back to where Naedo-sensei was sitting and joined him on the ground. "So, uhm…Naedo-sensei was saying that he had a bad feeling about coming to Suna, and…if you don't mind, we were kinda wondering why…" Emi said after a minute.

Fiddling with the sand, Michiko sighed and nodded. "Yeah, I figured as much…" She took a deep breath. "I'm not the only Jinchuuriki in Suna. There's another person, the Kazekage's son, who has a demon in him as well. But as a failsafe, in case he didn't turn out alright, they implanted a demon called Houkou, the Five Tailed Dog Demon, in me, killing my mom. My father died on a mission a few months before, so I was born an orphan, and taken into the Kazekage's house, seeing as no one else wanted a 'demon kid'." She grimaced. Emi and I listened silently. "The Kazekage and I…didn't have a good relationship at all. He beat me pretty much every day, along with his son."

"Which explains why you punched him, right?" I asked with a smirk.

She laughed blackly. "Told'ja I had my reasons," she said back. She was quiet for a moment before continuing. "The only friends I had were the Kazekage's three children; Temari, the oldest, Kankuro, the middle, and Gaara, the youngest, and the Jinchuuriki.

"Gaara…wow, why would you name your kid that? 'The demon who loves only himself'…" I said aloud.

Michiko scowled. "One night, Gaara and I were on the rooftop talking when we were attacked by his uncle, who'd been sent by the Kazekage. Gaara flew into a rage and told me to leave the village, and that he'd find me wherever I was, and that was the last time I've ever seen him." Her shoulders sank. "I'ono if he's even alive anymore."

"This is why I never wanted to go on this mission," Naedo clarified. "I had a feeling in my gut that the Kazekage would've tried something, and I was right."

"Wait," Emi said, holding up a hand. "The Kazekage was the one who sent that man to ambush us?"

Naedo nodded solemnly. He looked at Michiko. "I'm sorry for making us come here. It's my fault this happened tonight," he apologized.

Michiko shook her head. "No, it ain't. Don't worry about it," she said, shrugging. She then turned to look at us. "Alright, I've fessed to you about my entire life. I wanna know about you two," she said eagerly.

"Fair enough," Emi said with a shrug. "It's not like there could be any secrets bigger than the one you already know, right?"

I smirked and shook my head.

"A'ight, I'll go first, I guess," Emi said. She leaned back and set her hands behind her on the sand. "For starters, my demon happens to be Kyuubi's kit, the one that attacked the village 12 years ago." She laughed at our surprised expressions. "Which also means that I have a sibling, the boy who has Kyuubi himself sealed within him."

"Wait, you mean Uzumaki Naruto?" Michiko asked, brows knit.

Emi nodded. "Here's the catch, though; he doesn't know. Hell, _I_ didn't know until I was about…uhm, six, I think. The night of the Uchiha massacre." She shuddered slightly before continuing. "And I was told never to tell him, so he still hasn't got a clue."

"Who told you not to tell him? Why don't you just do it anyway?" I asked incredulously.

"…Uchiha Itachi said that if I ever told Naruto, he'd kill him a lot sooner than he'd originally planned to," Emi said, eyes narrowed. "I knew Itachi because he was my best friend, and I also had the biggest crush on him in the world. But the night of the massacre, Sasuke and I found him, and he tortured us, then told me about my demon and my brother."

I let out a low whistle. "That's a lot to put on a six year old," I said.

Emi nodded, then shrugged and looked up at the stars. "And that's basically all the major stuff," she said nonchalantly before looking at me. "You're turn!"

I nodded and crossed my legs. "Well, unlike you two, I wasn't born a Jinchuuriki. I was born and raised in Kirigakure, the Hidden Mist Village. Both my parents were alive and successful shinobi, and we had a great life." I balled my fist around a handful of sand. "But one night, someone attacked us, killing my mother and kidnapping me and my dad. I only know that because I made that assumption. I don't actually know what happened. The last thing I remember is my mother screaming, then my world went black…and I woke up in a cell." I sighed. "I was so full of power that I was able to bend and break the bars of the cell, and they were about as thick as an arm, too."

"Day-um!!" Michiko said with a smirk.

I laughed. "Yeah, that's what I thought, too…After that, I ran to Konoha, and that's where I've been ever since. That's when I discovered my demon, the Seven Tailed Badger Demon, Kaku. He's the reason I'm able to shape shift. And that's about it, I guess."

The two kunoichi nodded, then Emi turned to look at Naedo-sensei, who had spaced out. "Oi, sensei!!" she said, catching his attention. "Anything about _you_ we should know about? Any demons, monsters, vicious, rabid gophers attached to your arms?"

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**_Heh, Michiko's a bit insane. :D_**

**_Tried to end it on a funny note. I'ono if I did that well._**

**_Please tell me what you think, and I'll try to get the next chapter out! Here's a spoiler; it's gonna be from Gaara's POV. XDD Should be interesting. P_**

**_Ja ne!!_**

**_Sakamoto Michiko_ out!!**

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	12. So Damn Close

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**Well, this took me less than a year to release. New record! XDD**

**A'ight...not much to say, 'cept this:**

**For those of you who are unaware, I started a new Naruto fanfic, called 'Innocence Jaded'. It's an AU high school story, mainly based around Gaara. Go to my profile to find the first chapter and all that good stuff!! PLEASE read it and let me know what you think!! :DD**

**Well...uhm...yeah.**

**I don't own Naruto. But my friends and I do own Naedo, Michiko, Kamiko and Emi. I also own the situation that is going on--it isn't in the original plotline.**

**PLEASE review and let me know what you think! People aren't reviewing lately, save for Reidluver, xEren and Auphora66, my three main reviewers (I think I got their names spelled right...; I'm tired, OK? I just went to two parties in a row!! .) so thanks to them!! But I'd love to hear what others think of this, and also what you all think of 'Innocence Jaded'. The next chapter of that should be coming soon-ish, but I'm taking Drivers Ed now, and I have homework and piano lessons and all that jazz, so no guarantees. Same with this story.**

**Enjoy! :DD**

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-Gaara's POV, the night of the assassination attempt-

"Yo, Temari!! Oi, oi, wait up, will ya?!"

Temari and I stopped, turning around to face Kankuro. He was running up the stairs towards us as fast as his legs could carry him, waving an arm hysterically in the air. "Wait up, Temari!! I've been searching for you all day! You're not gonna _believe_ this!!"

She placed a hand on her hip, scrunching an eye. "Can't be more surprising than the time you—"

"Hey, you said you'd promise never to mention that again!" he said once he'd reached us, slightly out of breath.

I almost smirked.

"Oh, urusei, baka. We're in our own home. Who's gonna care?" Temari said, shrugging.

Home…hn, is that what she called this place?

Kankuro brushed the comment off. "So, Temari, you'll never guess who I just ran into!!" he said, completely ignoring me, thankfully. I crossed my arms and leaned back slightly. This was going to take a while, I could tell. _I'll kill him if he doesn't make it quick,_ I thought, a bit of a habit of mine.

"Lemme guess, some prostitute you picked up last week tellin' you she's pregnant?" Temari teased, leaning forward until her face was half a foot away from his.

Kankuro grinned deviously. My brow furrowed. He usually would have started yelling at Temari for that kind of comment, and here he was grinning. Something wasn't right. I might have hated him, but he was still my brother. I knew how to read him pretty well.

"Well, unless Michiko's turned into a slut in the past six years, I'd say no," he said slyly, leaning towards Temari's face spitefully.

She reeled backwards, nearly falling over. "Say WHAT now?!" she screeched, eyes wide as her fists. "You saw her?! Really?!"

I winced. I was surprised the glass of the window beside us didn't shatter. The enclosed area of the hallway didn't help much, either. "Temari," I grumbled, irritated. She immediately calmed down and grabbed Kankuro's arm, dragging him into her bedroom. I sighed and followed slowly.

Michiko…why did that name sound familiar? I shut my eyes as I slid my gourd off my back and leaned back against the wall of Temari's room. Michiko…Michiko…I knew that name from somewhere…

"So you really saw her?! How is she?! Is she alright?! Did you get to talk to her at all?!" Temari demanded in a rush, forcing Kankuro backwards onto her bed.

"Whoa, whoa, choto matte, Temari!!" he said, laughing slightly. "One at a time!!"

Temari glared at him, making him continue. She'd certainly picked up the intimidation factor from being on the same squad as me, that much was apparent.

"Well, I was walking down the path, and she ran into me, making us both fall over," Kankuro started. I, for once, actually listened. It was bothering me that I couldn't remember who this girl was. "At first, I didn't, you know, really know if it was her. I mean, it looked like her, alright, but I still wasn't sure," he babbled.

"Just get to the point, Kankuro!" Temari shouted, exasperated.

"I'm gettin' to that!" he yelled back. After clearing his throat, he went on. "So, I didn't really recognize her, then I saw that her bangs had fallen to the side, and there was the moon on her forehead, clear as day!" He sounded rather proud of himself. His face fell slightly. "But when I tried to talk to her, she ran off, probably thinking I'd ridicule her or something…"

I narrowed my eyes and stared at the floor. Moon…a moon birthmark on her forehead. That was definitely familiar…

But I still couldn't remember.

I shut my eyes in frustration, my brow furrowing. I had heard that name before, I knew I had…but I hardly remembered anything since I was six, as I'd erased those memories from my mind. They served me no good now.

"…Gaara?" Temari said tentatively. I slowly opened my eyes and looked at her, eyes narrowed to slits. What did _she_ want? "Are—are you alright?" she asked. She sounded more scared than concerned, but I didn't care. I just glared at her, not answering verbally. It made her shudder and she quickly turned around to face Kankuro, who gave me an odd stare before shaking his head and talking to Temari again.

If they noticed that I'd left a moment later, they didn't show it. I headed towards the exit of the building, a frown plastered on my face as usual. I did my best to shut out the sounds around me, trying to remember who this Michiko girl was, but one comment caught my attention.

"Tonight? Are—are you sure, Kazekage-sama?" came the sound of a startled, male voice.

"Of course, I'm sure!" I heard my father's voice boom clearly from down the hall. I scowled at the sound. My fingers twitched, itching to form a complete fist, but I willed them not to and continued listening.

"But Kazekage-sama..." the same voice from before argued.

"This is non-negotiable!" he shouted back. "Are you saying that you aren't up for the task?!"

"N—no, no, of course not, Kazekage—sa—sama!!" said the servant, flustered.

A satisfied chuckle came from the room. "Good. Now make the necessary preparations. Formulate the cleanest, most efficient strategy you can. Remember," my father's voice was suddenly hushed, "who you're up against."

There was a short silence before the man agreed and left the room. I saw him flinch when he saw me before he quickly averted his eyes from my own and hurried down the corridor.

After a moment, I started walking down the hall once more, though I had no intention of leaving through the doors. Without stopping, I raised two fingers to my nose and let my body disintegrate into a cloud of sand. The next thing I knew, I was on the roof, body whole once more.

Silently, I sat down on the flat rooftop, the highest in all of Sunagakure. I could see any part of the village I wanted, all the way to the outskirts and main gate.

The moon had already risen in the sky, hanging over the village and shedding its pale light on the buildings. The stone houses and stores seemed to glow in the light. Wisps of sand blew into the air by the cool breeze, glittering as they went.

I'd heard many people say it—this village was unlike any other at night, as far as views went.

Oh, how I wanted to crush it all, leaving nothing but rubble and sand and blood. To hear the sound of snapping bones and ripping flesh, to feel the warmth of their thick blood on my hands…

I sighed and shut my eyes for a moment. My fingers twitched again, begging me to form a full fist, but I held back the urge. I'd save my anger and chakra for later, when the Kazekage launched yet another attack on me.

Why would he be so loud about his plans for tonight? He should have known that I was in the building, and would hear him. Was senility finally taking its toll on him? For the sake of my own amusement, I hoped so.

I opened my eyes once more, staring out across the seas of sand blankly. I felt the urge to yawn out of boredom. I let my thoughts wander, as I usually did at night. They eventually settled on one topic.

Who the hell was this Michiko girl?

I gnashed my teeth in frustration. I knew that name, I just couldn't attach it to a face. And it was pissing me off, only adding to my already sour mood.

I dragged my thoughts away from the mystery girl, focusing on other things, like how to take care of the assassin the Kazekage was sending tonight. I started planning out different ways of dispatching him, short and simple, or long and elaborate. Before I knew it, a couple of hours had passed—it was probably around midnight or one in the morning.

I was stolen from my thoughts when the wind started blowing more than it usually did. My eyes opened, then narrowed. It never got this windy in the desert unless there was a sandstorm, and I couldn't sense one of those coming on. I stood, body stiff and alert, feeling for anything abnormal.

And for the first time in a long time, I was honestly surprised.

There was a strange aura coming from the south, the same direction I was facing. It was an odd kind of feeling, and rather familiar. _This isn't human chakra_, I thought to myself. Silently, I leapt from rooftop to 

rooftop, heading towards the source. The feeling was growing stronger and stronger. It was almost suffocating.

I knew this chakra. I was close enough to tell that it was, indeed, not human chakra.

This was demonic chakra, even stronger than my own.

I was only a few rooftops down from the source now. I could see four figures, three that looked about my age, and an adult. Two of the younger ones stayed crouched behind the third, who stood with their arms straight in front of them, pointed at the adult. I jumped closer until I could see them clearer without being noticed. The three younger ones were kunoichi—Konoha ninja, from their Hitai-ate. The adult was dressed as an assassin.

Now I understood. My father hadn't sent the assassin after me. He'd sent him after this girl, for obvious reasons.

I watched emotionlessly as she electrocuted the man to death with a smile on her face. I noticed the two kunoichi behind her shaking in fear. A smirk tugged at the corners of my mouth.

I jumped two more rooftops towards them. _This is about as close to them as I'll get without getting noticed_, I decided. It didn't matter, though. I was close enough to see their faces and even read their chakra signatures.

I stared at the Jinchuuriki girl, who had her back faced to me. My eyes narrowed once more. I recognized this kind of demonic chakra. I'd encountered it before. I shut my eyes and tried to solve her raging chakra signature.

My eyes snapped wide open when I recognized it.

She turned around to face the two kunoichi and myself, revealing her face. _**"Well, look what we have here…"**_ she said, a grin plastered on her face.

My eyes went wider.

"Michiko!" I murmured.

I was suddenly flooded with memories that I didn't want to have, that I wished I could erase from my mind completely.

"_Go home! Bakemono!"_

_I don't want to be alone anymore!_

"_You know, Gaara…I know how you feel."_

"_I'm basically a failsafe in case you end up not working, from what Yashamaru told me."_

"_We have to get out of here! He's been sent to kill us both!!"_

"_Get out of here as fast as you can!"_

"_Go to Konoha if you must! Just get out of here! It isn't safe for either of us anymore!!"_

"_I promise I'll find you somewhere, wherever you're going. Iko! Hayaku!"_

"_My sister did not name you out of love. You were never loved, Gaara!"_

"_Now…please die with me…"_

"_YASHAMARU!!"_

A sharp flash of pain shot through my head, making me grunt and grab my hair. My mind hurt so horribly from the memories that my head was throbbing. I lowered my head into my hands, trying to quell the pain. My breath came out in long gasps.

I'd never felt anything like this before—it was much different than what I felt during my fights with Shukaku. Was this the kind of pain Yashamaru had been talking about? The memory of him sent another shot through me. I groaned again.

How was this Michiko girl hurting me like this? Just thinking of her caused me pain! And now my head felt as if it would split open, because each time I looked at her or felt the chakra around her, it was hard _not_ to think about her.

I felt rage flowing through me. No…I wouldn't let this happen! I couldn't! By causing me this pain, she threatened the reason for my existence, and I refused to let it disappear!

I unlocked my hands from their grip on my hair and looked up towards Michiko, only to be taken by surprise once more.

"Wh—what the hell is going on with me?!" she stammered, staring at her arms. Her eyes had returned to normal; a piercing green framed by glasses. "Oh, God, don't—" She cut herself off by collapsing to her knees and gripping her head, snarling and groaning.

I immediately thought of my own battles with Shukaku at night. Well, didn't _that_ stance look familiar.

I felt another wave of pain surge through me as I watched her writhe. I let a growl slip through my teeth. More and more anger surged through me, overtaking any thought of sparing her.

I slowly raised my hand in front of me, fingers scrunched into a half fist. Sand started drifting in Michiko's direction. She was on her feet now, trying to attack the other two kunoichi.

Before my sand could reach her, she collapsed onto the floor.

I'm sure my expression matched that of the two kunoichi—the look that said 'What in the hell just happened?'

This girl was full of surprises, I'd give her that.

And these surprises were pissing me off.

I sensed the shinobi's presence before the two kunoichi did. They nearly screamed when they turned around to see him. His face was grave and angry.

I slowly stood up, though remained slightly crouched. _Dammit! I was so close…_I could still feel the excitement as the sand had slithered towards her, knowing that I'd soon feel the joy of being alive. Then it slipped away so fast…I ground my teeth to powder._ Fine, then! I'll just kill them all!_ I stretched my arm up and out towards them once more, more adrenaline surging through me. The thought of killing four instead of one had gotten me more excited than before.

"That doesn't matter right now. Let's go. We're being watched," said the older boy, looking directly at me.

I shot him a glare, knowing he could see it. I didn't care if he could see me; he'd be dead soon, anyway.

The two kunoichi spun around in a circle searching for me, while the boy started to walk away.

One of the girls caught sight of me—the brunette one. I realized this and immediately ducked down into a low crouch, arm still outstretched. The movement was so fast that there was no way she could have caught it.

I kept the sand moving towards them slowly, so that it didn't cause too much noise, and I could surprise them.

But before it was close enough to wrap around their ankles, the boy called out to them, and they all vanished.

I let out a shout of fury. "Kuso!!" I snarled from between my teeth. The excitement had once more turned to anger, making my vision take on a red tint.

No one had ever given me this hard of a time when it came to killing them, and I was burning with the desire to feel alive again. It'd been a few days since my last kill. I was thirsty for blood.

I scanned my surroundings. I couldn't find a trace of them. They'd gone too far too fast. I'd be searching all night if I wanted to find them, even with my Third Eye Jutsu—this was not a small village, after all.

I nearly blacked out with rage. This couldn't be possible—someone was standing in the way of my reason for living, and I couldn't stop them from that! Michiko was able to hurt me without even looking at me, which confused me more than the fact that I couldn't kill her. What kind of jutsu was this?!

I shook my head violently for a short moment, snarling angrily. I didn't remember any good times I might have had with her, and I didn't care.

The only fond memory I'd have of her now is the sight of her dead. I'd make _damn_ sure of that.

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**_Heh, Gaara hates Michiko now. :D Betcha didn't see that coming, ne?_**

**_Or maybe you did. I'ono._**

**_Please let me know how this one turned out!! :DD Reviews are 3._**

**_Sakamoto Michiko_**


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